limited shop talk...

gosh i do like that, 'limited shop talk'. its a bit tricksy dicksy of me though, for it would appear upon reading my blog title, i am going to be talking about my shop, but in a very limited small way, which no doubt has you breathing a sigh of relief, for after all i have talked a lot of shop this week.

but no! ha ha! hee hee! you are quite right about the shop talking bit, but not the limited short bit, for limited is actually a shortened version of 'dottie angel limited'...

oh yes, clever and sneaky and may i say, a little brilliant!

however i do promise, pinky promise, hand on heart kind of promise, after today there will be no shop talk for a while. i will hang up my travelling sales cap and be wearing my book writing cap. which actually is not a cap but a headscarf. yes i will don a different headscarf every day next week, i may have to borrow one or two from used dog, and i will waft around the shed, in my headscarf and book writing attire, pencil behind my ear poised at the ready to record any snippet of dottie angel wisdom that strikes my little cogs.

and what will i use to scribble my wisdom upon? i hear you ask, well luckily for me i will have in my apron pocket a handy dandy notebook... not just any old handy dandy notebook, no sirree! a handy dandy notebook from dottie angel ltd no less :)

"oooh, Tif, you are a sneaky one with your sales pitch" i hear you cry

"oh yes indeed, this old girl still has it" say i, with a little smirk

they have been a long time in the making for sure, Debbie and myself took over 8 months to get to where we are now with our 'most happy' trio, but we are here now and most delighted with the outcome of our latest 'dottie angel ltd' adventure. of course i am not the one living with huge amounts of notebooks in my nest taking up the best part of one room, but Debbie assures me they look so peachy in their large quantity that she is 'a okay' with it. i have no idea if that will be the case several months down the road but let us not dwell on such things.

instead let us dwell on their peachiness...

small enough to fit in one's bag for handy dandy note taking, impromptu list making and any random doodling required on the go. printed and made in old blighty, from beautiful recycled paper and card stock, each notebook features a dottie angel picture, a dottie angel wording and some lovely vintage fabrics. the colors are soft and vintagey and we are particularly delighted with the inside covers.

something about opening up a handy dandy notebook and finding a little extra inside to make the day a little brighter.

i could waffle on and on about them, but my sales cap is slipping and all the NITTY GRITTY can be found here if you so care to read. and if you do so care to read, then please especially note these 'most happy' threesome will be mailed from ENGLAND just like the perfectly peachy tea towels are.

best of all, we are able to offer these wholesale, so if any passing lovely shop owner thinks these sweeties may indeed be most handy dandy upon their shelves, just contact me tif@dottieangel.com so we may talk shop :)

righty ho, i am off to sort out my head scarves and make the mountain of laundry look like a molehill before another week begins and just before i do,

may i just say little olive is beaming with your lovely comments from thursday. may i also just say by saturday little olive's cardboard playpen had to be confiscated due to another 'health and safety' regulation stating little doggies can only eat 'x' amount of cardboard before they come a cropper.

i noted upon me having to remove little olive from her playpen that used dog had sat quietly by during the whole proceedings. for she is a wise old dog of 11 years and has learnt from experience that cardboard eating is not a healthy past time, thus proving growing old has its good points.

she is thinking this week's word of the week will be 'handy dandy' cause she wishes to use it in the grocery store. "oooh no thank you! i have bought my own 'handy dandy' bag to use" ~ Tif

a slight case of envy...

little doggies and little children are one and the same...

give them

an oversized cardboard box,

some well loved toys,

several cozy blankets,

many oven mitts

and

they are as happy as can be.

having spent a few moments (okay, many minutes) watching little olive in her 'play pen' complete with EXIT carved out by Our #4 last night (as per health and safety standards for little doggies with short legs),

i must confess to several thoughts.

1. do dogs feel the weight of Mr Gloom?

2. i am slightly envious of little olive and her box.

3. have i completely lost my teeny tiny mind, standing here at 11am taking photos of a little doggie in a cardboard box, with her many blankets and mangled oven mitts, whilst feeling slightly envious.

fortunately she knows she is not alone with her barking mad ways ~ Tif

and it all becomes clear...

yes indeedy dearest readers, as i was doing a bit of twiddling with Carlos my trusty camera and his twiddly bits, trying to get some etsy shots, it all became clear...

as i noted the other day in my 'terribly important things to note' post, i mentioned my inability to cook orange meals any longer, how this has thrown me off balance and i have been most fretful about the whole lacking of orange on the dinner table.

well of course silly me! whilst 'a twiddling' it dawned on me, i am completely and utterly influenced in the kitchen by what i am crafting. therefore for many many months i was all about orange, lovely big retro flowery orange prints, thus i fed my clan orange meal after orange meal...

but i have noted a change has been creeping in, a change that has me a little nervy.

for i said to myself many moons ago,

i would not,

could not,

ever,

never

do lilac again after living in a lilac nest during the latter part of the nineties, in old blighty.

it would appear lilac has other things to say about that, along with gingham.

(gasp, shock and a little horror)

for i did indeed right here on my shiny place exclaim i did not do gingham.

never say never Tif...

upon opening up to lilac and purple (purple!) i have allowed all sorts of others to follow suit. pink keeps talking to me, not granny knicker pink but 'full on' pink, infact it is becoming quite the distraction. in doing so, i have found a new true love, for he is perfectly suited to share his world with any color, he loves orange, yellow, pink, lilac and many more, doing a grand job at keeping them grounded and in their place.

so it would appear my new love is warm glossy grey and the need to paint various passing pieces of woody things in the shed with his presence, has caused me to stumble from the righteous and goodly path of home cooked orange meals. if i had thought serving up orange meals to my clan was hitting an all time low in culinary delights, then i do believe warm grey home cooked meals will put paid to that record.

still stocking shelves this week and on friday she has some news on dottie angel ltd... haha, doesn't that sound so grown up and proper, must be something to do with warm grey and his sophisticating ways ~ Tif

begone Mr Gloom, begone...

blimen' Mr Gloom's nose has been pressed up against my window for what seems forever and a day now. on Saturday, i thought to myself that's a little odd Tif, that there shadow in front of your studio window... then the reason for the feeling of gloom became clear. well it freaked me out a little cause Mr Lurgy was already inside visiting with Our #3 and i have to say i fear Mr Gloom way more than Mr Lurgy. indeed i would put him even above Mr Procrastinator.

for although Mr Procrastinator is a cad in more ways than one, whilst he visits it does not mean one is not doing things. sure one is pondering, pottling, pacing and achieving very little whilst doing so, but at least the little cogs are turning to some degree. but with Mr Gloom i cannot find a positive, he darkens where ever he roams and appears to take great joy in doing so.

on sunday i gave myself a talking to, i told myself i am armed with ammunition and i can and i will fight him.

"oh gosh Tif, what fighting talk" i hear you cry

"why yes dearest readers, all said whilst wearing my flannel pyjamas" say i

first off we have word of the week 'high hopes', quite obviously not a hint of gloominess about that. i said 'high hopes' quite loudly several times on sunday and i noted every time, his shadow recoiled a little.

then there is my forsaken little souls, collected over the past few years, some i found, and others found me through the kindness of folks. i gathered them all up from their various resting spots and popped them all together on one shelf in our bedroom.

even the angry looking russian doll seemed to relax her brow a little upon noting Mr Gloom was sweating and loosening his collar.

next i got to thinking about how my musings had gone to mush and my pennings had gone to pants, (please skip over that bit Janine, if you happen to read this ramble) i turned my attention away from the book so i may start afresh in a day or so, therefore giving me a grand opportunity to stock the shelves of my little shop. hurrah! hooray! i thought, for before, during and after christmas i spent any spare moment wisely crafting wares to sell. for some time now a lovely pile of handcrafted goodness has waited patiently in the corner of my studio, for their moment to shine. however day after day and week after week Mr Gloom has not played fair, thus not only my pennings are pants but also my photos.

yesterday continuing on from sunday, i refused to be weighed down by gloominess and set about with Carlos my trusty camera to see if we could rise above the darkness that envelopes the shed. i am delighted to report we have done a fair job between us. i would not shout it from the roof tops, nor enter the photos in any competition that maybe passing. however considering the circumstances with which they were taken, i think Carlos did a pretty peachy job.

i shall be popping my little wares upon the shelves and in the window of my shop over the next few days and i have noted, after just adding my 'itty bitty' heart tags, it would appear Mr Gloom has yet to find my shop window and press his blimen' nose up against it, so indeed perhaps filling my shop up will be just the tonic for shifting the weight of gloominess within the shed

she will show you more of what she has been crafting tomorrow ~ Tif

dottie angel workshop summer retreats...

as promised yesterday, i have note #4 in my hands, ready to share and it is a mighty fine note, even if i do say so myself. one that brings a little tear to my eye, silly i know but i can't help myself, some things just make me tear up and this is one of them.

so without further a do...

note #4:

i am delighted beyond all delights, indeed giddier then any giddiness i have felt before, to announce

two

back to back

dottie angel workshop retreats

this coming

July 2011

and the thing that brings the little tear to my eyes? well dearest readers, these two peachy workshops will be held in England! yes indeedy, i have been given the wonderful opportunity of returning home to where my heart is, so i may teach my craft to like minded souls courtesy of the brilliantly brilliant Angela of Ace Camps.

the retreats will be take place on the Suffolk Coast, in a cottage overlooking the sea, (sound familiar?), each retreat will consist of three nights stay, two full days of dottie angel workshops, (and i do mean full, we craft from morning to late into the evening if the dearies so wish). there will be walks on the beach, tea taken around the fire pit and more vintage fabrics in one room then you could ever dream of. to keep our crafty energies at maximum levels, Angela will provide wonderful home cooked meals along with snacks and beverages...

day one: we will be crafting

summer apron wraps

upon donning our wraps and looking mighty fine, myself and my dearies will continue upon our path of recycled handcrafting and begin making

little birdie 'hangy-me-jigs'

the evenings will be spent 'a yakking and a yarning' with crochet or knitting in hand, no dearie need fret if crocheting is not her forte, for i or other dearies with 'thee knowledge' will gladly spend our time wisely helping others along the goodly and righteous path of yarny goodness

day two: will find us finishing up our little birdie 'hangy-me-jigs' and moving on to

little sunshine messenger sacks

perfectly suited to carrying a small critter, some yarn or a chocolate bar, if time allows we will take our left over scraps from our two days of beavering and create ourselves some 'happy scrappy' garlands.

both retreats are limited to 8 dearies, which i think will make for a wonderful crafting environment and maximum quality time spent together.

for all the nitty gritty on the trip details including dates, you can looky here

for all the nitty gritty on the itinerary, you can looky here

for all the nitty gritty on what Ace Camps are, you can looky here

and

for some wonderful 'kind words' from past Ace Camp participants, you can looky here

if after all that 'looky looking' you feel this may indeed be the retreat for you and your lovely stash of vintage, second hand linens to have a moment to shine, but you have a question or two that requires an answer, please do contact Angela, ritchieacecamps@yahoo.ca for she is in charge of this grand adventure and will bound to have all the answers you need

now of course some of you maybe thinking, England! Summer! The Beach! has Tif lost her little tiny mind! you can be rest assured i have not, for rain or shine, hail or heatwave, me and my dearies will be channelling our inner dottie angels and crafting to our little eclectic souls content in a beach house overlooking the sea, running barefoot if we so wish, spending our evenings by the fire pit, wearing vintage slips and living life the dottie angel way regardless of what Mr Weather brings our way.

for we all know through the wisdom of our own experience

"when one crafts, the sun shines all around"

she is wishing you the peachiest of peachy weekends ~ Tif

things to note...

note 1:

i am delighted to report dearest readers, because of your brilliantly brilliant recall skills the other day, i have over 46 'dottie angel' words scribbled on a piece of paper sitting in my 'terribly important' note making pile! i typed my scribbled words into 'Word' and it all became too much for poor old Mr Spell Checker which delighted me greatly.

not that i delight in Mr Spell Checker having a funny turn, far from it, i need him more than he will ever know, for spelling has never been my forte and i rely upon him and his wisdom at all times. my delight came from so many words not being recognized as real words and i wondered just how many other undiscovered words there must be floating around in our little brains waiting to be put to good use in everyday conversations. this pondering led to some thinking, and that thinking led to a thought worthy of taking action on.

"would it not be grand Tif to have 'word of the week' upon your sidebar?" my little inner voice enquired

and then it all came back to me, how i would drive the folks around me potty when i was younger, as i attempted to introduce my 'word of the week' into every sentence i spoke. i think this would be a grand way to pass the winter months and expand our daily vocab.

note 2:

bearing my new shiny year resolutions in mind i found a new friend, being of the green variety, if i manage to keep him alive, i will have 'keep a plant alive' covered on my resolution list as well. it took me a little while to track him down for cheese plants are a rare breed these days, i am a little fearful if i keep him alive he will grow to 'mammoth cheese plant' proportions but for now he fits nicely inside our biscuit jar and so far, 9 days on from bringing his little green self home to the shed, i am relieved to see he is still looking like a cheese plant, albeit quite snug in his jar.

his official 'show name' is Mr C. Plant, then if we ever get invited to participate in a plant show of some kind, other entrants to the competition will read his name and be most intimidated by the grandeur of it. around the shed, everyday kind of stuff though, i call him 'mr cheesy'. i have learnt an interesting fact, which i have no idea where from, but i read it somewhere over the past couple of weeks. and i quote

"to make a difference to the air we breath within our homes we need to have 20 houseplants or more".

i cannot ever imagine getting to the point of keeping 20 or more houseplants alive, it would be a full time job making sure they were all fed and watered. as well as talking to them all as individuals and not as a group. greeting them with a

"good morning plants, how are we today?"

would not cut it, no sirree, they would all like a bit of individual quality time and who can blame them. i would have to remember all 20 names and i am quite sure they would know if i made a mistake, although i am also quite sure they would be too polite to voice my mistake.

by the time i had spoken individual words of encouragement to each and every little green friend in the shed, it would be time for bed and then we would have to start all over again the next morning.

so my wishes of making the air that we breath within the shed 'top notch' has fallen upon the shoulders of one little cheese plant. i told him of his responsibilities yesterday (giving him a few days to settle into his biscuit jar before breaking the news he was here to work) he appeared to take it quite well and i, in return, promised to play Radio 2 for him and to do my utmost besty best to keep him alive forever and ever (which is a terribly long time but we are going to take it one day at time so the feeling of responsibility is not overwhelming). i cannot be sure but when i told him the bit about keeping him alive, it would appear Mr Cheesy let out a small sigh of relief

note #3:

this one is a little shocking, i am trying to maintain 'high hopes' it is just a blip in my cooking abilities and one that will pass quickly. i have not cooked a proper full on orange meal in over a month, when this thought dawned on me last week i felt a grip of mild panic. what will i do if i cannot cook my trademark orange meal. i calmed myself down with some chocolate i located from my hidden stash in the studio, i told myself to recall my most glorious orange meal moments and that is when panic gripped me again.

i am now besides myself with thinking how my grandchildren will never taste the lovely orange meals their granny was once known for. why oh why could i not have kept a 'tried and tested' orange meal recipe book so in my darkest moments (such as now) i could refer to them and the grip of panic would subside

note #4:

will have to wait! ha ha hee hee! for i have rambled enough today and i must take my ramblings over to 'Word' and continue what i started rambling yesterday, filed neatly within my very 'neatest as neat can be' filing system, deep in the depths of Colin the computer's brain.

you can be sure she will be back tomorrow with note #4, for indeed it is probably the only note of todays 'things to note' worth noting ~ Tif

'have a heart' how-to...

these little 'have a heart' strings are easily made from a few items laying around the nest, they are the perfect antidote to the winter blues and best of all, do not scream "i am a valentines decoration" therefore can stay up for way longer than a few weeks in Feb!

but i must warn you before we begin, they are tres addictive, i made one a few days after Our #1 left on the 28th Dec, that little string did a peachy job of distracting my heavy heart, so i made another and another, before i knew it i had a whole chorus of them hanging in my studio looking mighty pretty.

ingredients:

* an old book, not a first addition that belongs to someone else in your nest and worth a bob or two, one that perhaps you picked up at the thrift store a while back. old books have paper which feels nice in the hands and the writing has a lovely 'tippity tapped' look about it

* a small pair of paper scissors

* sewing thread in a pretty color for your trusty sewing machine

* a small piece of left over wrapping paper or wallpaper, something bright and cheery

* some pretty tape, i used that lovely colorful Japanese tape we see everywhere but failing that, good old clear tape will do the job, just something to stick the strings up with

* a little saying either printed, typed or handwritten on some card, just a few though, not every string has one. i used 'please hold on to my heart' but i am thinking there are many other little sayings worthy of this 'how-to'

before we begin, a couple of things to note:

* the hearts are cut from two pages put together, so they have a little more sturdiness to them

* saying that, these sweeties are delicate, the strings will break easily if small hands get to them, or paws for that matter, so do hang them where they may be admired without worry

* i made my strings different lengths to add to the eclectic look, the longest being 42"/107cm and the shortest being 20"/51cm

recipe:

1. take your double thickness book page and start cutting out heart shapes, do not draw them first, just cut away not worrying about them being perfectly heart shaped. i cut hearts in three different sizes, itty bitty, medium and largish. i worked on largish first till i got the swing of cutting hearts free hand and then moved to the smaller ones.

keep them in separate sized piles if you wish for your strings to look like mine.

2. cut a few itty bitty, medium and largish, double sided hearts out of your colorful patterned paper, just one or two, unless you prefer a more colorful look, which actually would look rather splendid and if so, then cut away!

3. take your little hearts carefully over to your trusty sewing machine, making sure you have plenty of spare thread at the top for hanging the string, begin feeding your little paper hearts through the machine until you have a nice length of hearts. finish off your first string by leaving a lovely long thread as tails. continue this process with the rest of your paper hearts, being sure to occasionally pop in a colored heart amongst the book page hearts and on the bottom of some, before you finish, attach your little printed or handwritten note.

4. when each string is done, tape them up as you go, therefore avoiding getting into a tangle and also keeping them safe. this is the bit that causes addiction, once a couple are hanging up you begin to see how lovely a few paper hearts can look and the need to make more consumes you.

and that is it! if you wished, you could fold out your paper hearts as they are double sided but i kept mine flat, you could also stitch them across the top to make them 'garland' style, like in my 'shiny new year' diorama... thinking they would make lovely little gifts, i made one extra long one and mailed it to Our #1 so she may hang it in her little nest and think of us, whilst we think of her

i have now moved our 'have a heart' strings to the lounge and last night as i was pottling around the place finishing up for the day i noted how peachy they looked with the light shining from behind, their little hearty silhouettes doing a grand job at warming up the winter blues

she is running low on gold sticky stars because of your fabby 'i spy' and recall skills ~ Tif

battiness is just around the corner...

the little voice within my head will not be quiet, the cogs refuse to slow down and for the past few days my mind is 'a whirring' with words that need to be penned.

i now have pieces of paper all over the shed with scribbled hasty notes, things i need to record that moment, less two minutes later they fall into the black hole within my head...

i can now see why so many writers hole up in a place where no one can find them, they are not foolish enough to sit at a computer in the center of their nest, grabbing a few hours here and there, whilst all around continue to talk, play music, woof and require feeding and clean undies. no sirree, they have the right idea... just them, their little computer and their booky thoughts.

but that is not an option for me (although i did ponder it briefly this morning as i awoke to my little voice babbling on). so i have now taken to carrying around paper and pencil, i am penning my book the old fashioned way, before the keyboard and the typewriter but after the quill and ink. then i shall transfer penciled words to 'Word' not having to worry about distractions and noisy clan at foot.

my man has suggested i "tell my book" to a little recording device and i thought this might be worthy of some pondering. i saw myself 'Barbara Cartland' style upon the couch (except i would have flannel pyjamas and a woolly sweater on, a little less eyeliner too i am thinking), Little Olive resting by my side and Used Dog offering to be in charge of note making and button pressing. Used Dog is a little iffy these days and so when i suggested this idea to her, she got in quite the tizzy about the responsibilities that come with pressing buttons and note taking, said her little toe pads just do not work the way they used to. then Little Olive pointed out it would be completely and utterly impossible for her to rest by my side because being on the couch is a 'no no' and getting a opportunity like this would be too terribly thrilling she would be overcome by peskiness, jumping all over me and trying to clean out my ears. (dogs are odd like that)

in the meantime, whilst i ponder walking around for the next few weeks with recording device in hand, be it at home, in the car or at the grocery store, i am working on whatever section leaps into my brain. "ah ha" i say to my little brain and hastily search for a pencil with lead and sharp point (quite rare in these parts i have noted) to record my brains "ah ha" moment.

and so dearest readers, this is where you come in today, yes that is correct, i see you sitting up a little straighter, adjusting what ever needs to be adjusted and now perhaps a little fearful of what i am going to ask of you. well it is quite simple really, my recall skills are letting me down, i have come to see i am the kind of person that can ramble away about any old thing, i see this to be true, as taking a look at my blog dashboard it tells me i have rambled no less 530 times!!! this is quite a number of rambles, and within those rambles is quite a lot of nonsense along with a hidden gem or two. so i am thinking as and when the need may arise, i may have to ask for you assistance. (this may not be the case, but i am putting it out there now, giving you time to think about the possiblity, if it arises)

some of you may say

"no, you are on your own there Tif"

and quite rightly so,

"way too many other things to be doing Tif"

and i do not blame you.

but others may say

"actually i think you are looking for this Tif"

or indeed

"you know what i liked best was the time Tif, you..."

and that would be most peachy indeed

so ears back, sit up straight and let us have a little go, a little warm up, nothing super duper tricky nor overwhelmingly time consuming. i am trying to recall all the dottie angelisms from over the past few years... the everyday words that have crept into this blog, the ones that when i press spell check, Mr Spell Check mocks me.

if you can recall any that may have stuck in your mind, ones perhaps that have become part of your daily vocab, i would love for you to tell me so i may make an important note of it, in my 'important note' pile of papers once destined for the recycle bin and now enjoying a few more rosy moments being scrawled upon by me and my pencil.

to get the cogs moving here's an example (and a fine one may i be so bold as to add)

'crappity crap'

surely Darren Dictionary should have this in his vocabulary!

do not fret, nor worry if another has already said the dottie angelism you have a fondness for, just tell me anyway, would be fun to know.

she is quite happy to hand out gold sticky stars all day long, in between the laundry, vacuuming and manic note making moments ~ Tif

footynote: cause its the weekend, hurrah hooray! and i am feeling quite giddy with all this 'cog turning', i have extra gold sticky stars for those that "i spy... a little 'lucky' bunny" :)

be gone scowling ways...

i must confess my 'smile' has slipped a little, being so soon into the new shiny year this has caused some fretting about my resolutions and if i have it in me to keep them up.

my new year smile started slipping on sunday and quite honestly by this morning i noted a terrible scowl had taken its place.

"no one likes a scowler Tif!" i hear you cry

"quite right you are, i am ashamed of my scowling ways" i say

fortunately for moi, a lovely nice young man (lordy, when did i get to the point of saying "oh yes he seems like a nice young man", i appear to be trilingual, i can talk english, american and now it would appear i talk 'granny')

the nice young man stopped by and twiddled with things that needed twiddling with, things that were causing my smile to slip. after a little bit of twiddling he declared my problemo sorted and he left with a smile on his face.

hurrah hooray, Mr Internet is ship shape again, no longer hit or miss, according to the nice young man, he will be 'a-okay' from now on out. of course the little voice inside my head pointed out this was the same thing the nice, slightly older man said just a few weeks back when he came to twiddle with things... but i told my little voice i did not have much choice but to trust those that know how to fiddle with such things

so whilst my smile was slipping over the past few days, i did things to make it cling on.

i stitched (almost obsessively i might add), patching lace and old linens together, i appear to be quite smitten once again with creams and whites, whilst listening to Radio 2.

i found one small ray of daylight in the shed to get some photos done for the book. i felt i was quite capable of doing this by myself (aided by Carlos my camera), but little olive felt otherwise.

i pondered my written word, for Janine tells me there can be no more procrastinating, i need to pull my knee socks up and get cracking with my tippity typing. i told her i would do my utmost best and so today i sat down to start!!!! i conquered my fear of the 'word document' and its automatic layout thingy.

actually that is a complete fib, i did not. instead i sat down, then immediately stood up. upon which i did 'a rant and a rave' in a very loud voice, about how 'Word' drives me to distraction, assuming all sorts of things i wish to do, that i do not, for i do not wish to double space, nor do i wish to suddenly be put into 'bullet point' mode. nor do i wish to have to tell 'word' this every single blimen' time i sit down to tippity type...

dearest readers, it all came out, every single thing that bugs the hell out of me on my computer (things my man felt it wise to install but on installation regretted due to his wife's meltdown, i do not like change, have i mentioned that before, technical change is not good for a dinosaur such as myself) my words continued to pour out, accompanied by flowery words and so my man with a sigh and no doubt a heavy heart (for he has heard it all before) put down his 'laptop bag', closed the front door and asked

"Tif, what exactly is it you wish to do with the word document?"

30 minutes later i am the proud owner of a blank, perfectly spaced, no bullet points, and other such nonsense popping up when and as it feels, fangle dangled word document. my smile was the biggest it had been all week, i reached for my cotton hankie, blew my nose (Mr Lurgy is hovering close by) and felt a sense of peace come over my little computer.

actually i might just blame Mr Lurgy for the slipped smile and terribly awful melt down, infact upon looking back at the evidence, this looks like his kind of doings.

in celebration of my new found love for my computer i have named him Colin. his namesake being my father, my father is quite the intelligent person and continues to be so after many years. so i felt it apt as computers are supposed to be super clever that i call him 'Colin the Computer'. i am hoping my father upon reading this will be most flattered just as i was when a friend many years ago named her guinea pig after me :)

my man left for work (never have i seen him so keen to get to his desk job), i did a token 'pottling and procrastinating' turn around the shed and then sat down to my new fresh 'saved format' word document and tippity typed my first words...

"many moons ago, i was born at home in 1968"

she is thanking you most kindly for the lovely comments from this past week ~ Tif

the happiest of happies....

hurrah hooray!!! nothing quite like a new shiny year!

when i was younger (oh so younger than today) i did not care for a new year,

i could not see what all the fuss was about.

but as i have aged,

(like a cheese, although i hope i smell better than a mature cheese. perhaps then a wine, no i do not drink wine so how about aged like a thrift store forsaken soul. not the sort that have dings and several limbs and an ear missing, but the kind that are a little ragged around the edges, perhaps the odd flea bite but none the less they still retain a certain charm that is appealing to others. yes that is it!)

i have noted that there is something perfectly peachy about starting a new one.

'tis a nice way to start 'a fresh',

a clean slate,

a new page if you will.

i have no idea why i am so taken with this year

as opposed to any other new year that has come and gone

but i am, and i might add i have even felt a little giddy when looking towards it.

my giddiness led to making the coming year

(which is here now, but wasn't at the time)

a gift of sorts...

some thing to make the year know i was happy to see it.

on the 27th of Dec, the day before Our #1 flew back to old blighty,

i got 'a crafting' with papers, fabrics, thread, paint, glue, yarn and an old drawer...

the sort of crafting that results in pottling,

i think that might be my favorite kind of crafting,

for it takes my mind off matters of the heart,

things that might make me sad are pushed aside.

i find myself distracted by my 'crafty moment'

and i find a happy place

the result of my 'crafting whilst pottling' was a little diorama.

actually it is not little, it is quite big.

i found the drawer from an old desk my man was using to store seeds in outside.

he did inquire as to where i had found my drawer

but i pretended not to hear (a positive about age-ing)

however my big drawer, is full of little things.

things that i feel are befitting the new shiny year to come...

and what is more befitting a new year

then some new shiny resolutions!!!

i tippity typed mine on a piece of paper taken from my granny's exercise book.

i felt sure this would help in a higher success rate than the usual 3 days

before a resolution is broken.

i had so many i needed to add on...

resolutions

*smile often (makes one look younger)

* make a new friend (a furry or feathered friend counts)

* eat less chocolate (tres tricky, failure every year for over 40 years)

* stop counting wrinkles (getting bangs/fringe greatly helping obsessive counting)

* write a book (deadlines are looming)

*smile often (see above)

*do not nag (no one likes a nagger)

*if nagging completely necessary for safety of others, then a little is allowed (after all i live with teenagers, funny how dogs and cats don't need to be nagged, it is more the two legged members of my clan this applies to, chickens not included)

*eat fruit every day (new motto, an apple a day keeps Mr Lurgy away)

*learn a new craft (i have one in mind)

*turn 43 with grace (this i am bound to fail at)

*keep a plant alive (i am so excited about finding a little plant to love, perhaps this plant could count as my new friend! yes that is brilliant!)

*think high hopes when cooking (this is the most repeated resolution of my life since having a clan)

*be a good recycler (i.e. don't be lazy at 11pm when clearing away the kitchen crappity crap)

*carry a vintage cotton hankie every day (no more throw away tissues, unless Mr Lurgy is visiting and only then if it is really really necessary)

*most importantly, quite possibly thee important thing of all, feel a little crafty at least twice a day, which without doubt will lead to smiling often! (this is the one resolution i truly think i might have an advantage at not breaking)

resolutions cont'd (next page)

*stress less (i might have to take a class on this one)

*write more snail mail (so lovely to get a handwritten note)

*ponder every purchase, including thrift store ones (glup!)

*bake edible cakes (a small miracle required for this one, but one i think possible)

*wallpaper lounge wall despite protests from clan (protests needed to have been put in writing and postmarked by january 1st, i did make this quite clear... have received no letters in mail box addressing the situation so looks like the protesters weren't listen when i used my quiet voice)

*put plans in motion to move back across the pond (this may take years but it is good to plan ahead)

*oil Miss Ethel (sounds a little dodgy but we know what i mean)

*smile often but not the cheesy kind of smiling, but the genuine nice smiley smiling kind of smiling (i may need to take a class on this too)

so there we have it,

i had several more resolutions popping into my head since tippity typing this lot,

but now they have popped out again,

lost in the black hole in my bonce that most things fall through if i do not put pen to paper quickly.

when my little shiny new year box was complete

i popped it on the mantle piece...

along with the little china bunny who happened to find me on my thrifty trip with Our #1,

the first day after her return to the shed.

i have never ever found a little bunny of such splendor before...

to make him feel even more splendid i crocheted him a cape.

after me and my man had dropped Our #1 at the airport,

we returned somewhat with heavy hearts and sat upon the couch.

my man commented

"that is quite the thing you have going on there isn't it?"

directed at my new shiny year diorama.

"is it the year of the rabbit then?"

"i have no idea" i replied

"he found me and i thought him quite lovely".

after a little research my man announced

indeed 2011 is the year of the bunny rabbit

and more to the point the rabbit only comes around every 12 years.

upon knowing this bit of information,

i thought to myself how my thrifting trips are rare these days,

and how lovely to think,

the one time i go with my thrifting buddy back by my side,

just like the good old days,

a little bunny finds me

and in return i give him a little cape of crochet

and put him in my 'new shiny 2011 year' box.

i am without doubt thinking this is a sign,

a very lucky sign telling me, 2011 will be most shiny indeed.

and with that thought in mind,

may i just thank you kindly for the wonderful heart warming comments

you left for me over the holidays...

i cannot thank you enough for all the kindness you showed me in 2010,

and

i truly wish for you all

a happiest of happy,

shiniest of shiny,

new year!!

she is smiling despite noting the laundry looks like a mountain and not as she wished, a mole hill ~ Tif