a 'threesome of the utmost kind'...

as my man left for work on monday morning he enquired

"will you be getting dressed today Tif?"

i replied that i was indeed thinking about it as i was planning big things with Miss Ethel,

but i was also sorely tempted to stay in my pyjamas and dally, for Mr Hook's brother was calling my name.

my man then asked if it was possible for me to spend more dallying time with him and less with Mr Hook and his brother.

i told him this was quite out of the question as i had just reapplied my lip salve.

he went off to his desk job a rejected man and i stayed home dallying with guilt...

never has a 'groupe de trois' been so in the forefront of my mind since the heady days of flu last winter and my delirious imagination having thoughts of me, colin firth and johnny depp...

if you are sitting comfortably, then i shall enlighten you to my shameless ways...

it all came about last week.

after revealing to you the antics of me and Mr Hook over the 'gleeful' season, i got rather 'boosted' to try new and exotic things with my yarn. but unfortunately Mr Hook was not up to the job in question, so i cast him aside and pondered. after a short interval of me pondering and him cast aside, he piped up "no worries, i have a brother".

my little eyes lit up upon hearing he was bigger than Mr Hook and best of all he had a PHD in the very subject i wished to study. of course, being that knowledgeable meant he liked to be called Dr... quite understandable i feel.

and so it came about last friday, i started my love affair with Dr Hook when no one was home to cast a 'disapproving' glance in my direction.

in the beginning he was a little 'off' with me, slightly distant, as though he was perhaps too good for me. i tried really hard to please but it was to no avail...

this twosome was not working out.

in a desperate need to make it work, clinging to the remains of our crumbling relationship, i suggested we found a friend to join us.

Dr Hook suddenly looked most interested.

a little while later, i found a willing participant to join our threesome.

her name is Dorothy, at least that is what i called her.

in my giddiness of finding her and her willingness to participate, i forgot to ask.

we have dallied in every chair in the shed... Dr Hook, me with chevron blanket in the making and Dorothy in the background with her soothing tones and lovely soft hands.

it would appear my 'groupe a trois', perhaps not quite so lusty as one with colin firth and johnny depp, is indeed a match 'made in heaven'.

i have told my two close friends that although i may appear to neglect them during the day, spending time with Miss Ethel and my clan, that they are never far from my thoughts. i will, whenever possible, spend stolen moments with them, albeit under the cover of darkness when the shed is asleep.

we have a long way to go and i'm hoping no squabbles will arise.

i tell myself to trust Dr Hook and his PHD,

compliment Dorothy regularly on her nice hands,

keeping them 'sweet' at all times

and that despite my doubts with the colors i've used,

the end result will be worth all the hours of dallying...

she's got a special guest for tomorrow... oh yes! it's a 'question of crafting' time, one not to be missed. ooooh nice ~ Tif

me and darren...

i am very disappointed with darren dictionary.

he has let me down...

i have told him, how can i rely upon him if he takes his responsibilities so lightly.

in the meantime i have written out the word 'nook' fifty times in the hope of remembering how to spell it.

my only hope upon using the word 'knook' yesterday is all you lovely readers in other parts of the world will have assumed it is the american spelling and all you lovely readers stateside will presume it is some quaint old english spelling.

i am on high alert now with darren, it will take a while before he gains my trust back.

i'm trying to find it in me to forgive and forget but for now i'm stewing on it.

last night i went 'a thrifting'.

interestingly i have noted my allergies have been most 'happening' again, even with my daily dose of allergy prevention medication.

on saturday night and last night, as i perused the afghan and bedding aisle, i had quite the attack.

i mentioned to my man that i assumed my lack of thrifting over the past month has caused my built up immunity to thrift stores to be come obsolete.

the only answer is i feel sure... without a doubt, in fact it would be most obvious to you and to me. i need to get some serious thrifting in over the coming weeks, thus building up my contact with whatever it is in the thrift store that causes me to weep and snuffle thus allowing me to go for a longer period of time in the store before i break down and have to leave...

on arriving home at the shed with dumpy candle in hand, for now i look at all sorts of things when in the thrift store, including ways to light the kitchen NOOK... i have seen some lovely homes on Flickr of late, mainly Scandinavian dwellings that seem to have a way with displaying candles, making their abodes look casual, glowing and nesty. obviously i don't actually have a table yet for the candles to grace, giving my NOOK a Scandinavian ambiance, but i'm working on that...

but i digress,

on returning home to the shed i found a note.

a note that lightened my heart.

it's a rare thing for my clan to take note of what i'm doing with regards to my 'making' and 'rambling'.

they appear to do a good job at noting my crappy cooking skills and lack of 'laundry doing' which i find most interesting...

and so to find a little note attached to my latest piece of textile recycling was truly most welcomed.

i don't need

yearly reviews,

hand shakes,

or an extra bonus

(well actually that last bit sounds quite nice)

but for my point i'm making we must dismiss such things as bonuses and special ballpoint pens that come in lush looking boxes.

no dearest readers, a little note that reads

"mummy, i really like this, love Meg"

is all i need.

she will return tomorrow with an update of her hooking ways ~ Tif

getting sweaty with Miss Ethel...

me and Miss Ethel have been getting reacquainted

our new year resolution is 'little and often', thus she just works up a nice glow and i can stand straight by the end of the day.

none of this three days in a row stuff, eight straight hours, sweating it out in a frantic frenzy of creativity, leaving her dripping and me with back issues of the worst kind.

as you may recall my sewing table was commandeered for the kitchen over the christmas break. i have now wheeled it back round the corner into my sewing knook, making myself and Miss Ethel much happier, but of course making the rest of my clan not so.

"excuse me, did you say sewing knook, Tif?" i hear you interrupt.

why yes i did dearest readers, i did say the words "sewing knook" for that is what i have now, a sewing knook, thanks to my mother.

on the last evening before my folks departure, dec 28th to be precise we got to work on sorting through all my stashes of vintage doilies and lace.

it was quite the task as i have been most good at squirreling it all away over the past two years of living at mossy shed. my mother took it in her stride as mother's do and before i knew it, my cupboards and jars had sorted piles relevant to size, length, use etc.

then we got to work shifting my cupboards from one wall to the next so that my sewing table could be accommodated in the same area. actually we got to work pointing and advising my dad and my man as to where we wished the cupboards to go.

it has all worked out a treat, (except for the bit about no one having somewhere to sit in the kitchen knook) allowing for the sofa to stay under the window for the winter months...

after my folks left i added a few tear outs of inspiration to the wall above Miss Ethel, i came across them as i was ripping out pages from magazines for wrapping my etsy sells, as and when they happen. all of the pictures i taped up, spoke to me because of their color, each image stopped me in my page flipping tearing tracks and made my heart lurch.

little pieces of artwork in their own right...

and so i am pleased to announce, after my sewing knook makeover, that i will be adding new wares to my little store next week. i hope to have a few garlands, a couple of apron wraps and then a few new things i've been working on, that make me giddy just thinking about them.

i'm also pleased to announce

(can you see me, standing on a stool with my loud speaker in hand, doing my announcing to the chickens in the yard, whom appear to be most interested i might add, just incase anyone was in fact yawning by this point)

my new labels have turned up. i'm rather happy with them... and yes before anyone points it out they look exactly like the last lot of labels i had, but may i point out the lettering is in fact 'bright' and not 'dull' colored like the last lot.

yes! that is the new me, the 'non color fearing Tif', who has made big giant colorful stepped progress in embracing color by ordering labels with greeny/teal lettering...

she is thinking labels today, perhaps a piece of attire tomorrow... there can be 'no knowing' with her new found 'color loving' wild self ~ Tif