23rd November
Today I am grateful for:
1. Having the money to buy lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, so that I can eat healthy nutritious food.
2. Thefriends I met at Trinity church Christmas fair.
3. My small fat hairy brown dog, Here he is looking like a grave and dignified statesman, though really he is just hoping for treats. He  makes me chuckle when he shows his enjoyment of life by rolling round and rubbing himself  on clean sofa covers or on the furniture under the throws. He  has such enthusiasm for so many aspects of his day. I would dearly like to 'be more dog'!

21st of November 2019

Three HappyThings

1. I scored 82 as my opening score in Scrabble. I used all of my letters and the computer accepted  'wilding' :)
2. I had a productive day at home. Bottomed the bathroom, hoovered downstairs, hand washing accomplished, ironing done and an hours needlepoint and relaxation this afternoon.

I do wonder how long it will take me to finish this. Since resurrecting it several weeks ago I gave almost finished the sky. It was tedious, an area of large blocks of colour, but it felt good to be working on it again. It's one of two canvases I that I bought over twenty years ago from a shop in Ashton which closed long ago. I thought I'd work them when I retired, but familiarity bred contempt and somehow I lost my interest and enthusiasm.

P

A wool gyr Falcon is surely something of an oxymoron anyway. Maybe that dulled my interest?. Falcons are not at all woolly. Quite the opposite in fact, swift as arrows in flight and with talons like steel wire. And little skill is involved in creating this needlepoint. The canvas is pre-printed and simple tent stitch is the only one used. But the colours are lovely, and gyr falcons are magnificent birds so perhaps  will finish this and it will be just a little homage to them - and also a  homage to Antonia Forest who first piqued my interest in all birds of prey.

I don't have a use for it and planned to Charity Shop it, but why shouldn't we do things purely for the pleasure of doing them. Does everything have to be useful? Minimalists miss a lot of pleasure in life I think. Or maybe not. So I will stitch as long as it gives me the pleasure I'm currently experiencing. It is good to feel pleasure in doing something just for myself again.

We have worked so hard on the allotments this year, the rain is disheartening but does encourage amazing growth. I won the argument about the foxgloves; the bees love them and the display is gorgeous, every possible shade from white through creams and soft punks to deep purple. We had just popped down to pick lettuce and radishes, poor dog looks thoroughly dejected doesn't he? He soon perked up when retrieved and offered a treat :)

My peonies were too heavy for the plants to support, and we're being hammered into the rain ground by the unremitting rain so now I am enjoying their glory indoors - though they appear to have come in with added ants which aren't a great bonus.

I have just finished this small shawl and am really happy with it. I haven't knitted a shawl before so chose a very simple pattern which allowed me to learn some new techniques quickly. The Falklands Islands merino wool costs a small fortune but is lovely to knit with, and I look forward to wearing this next winter - though given this endless dreary wet weather I may well wear it sooner rather than later!

Why?

Simple.

Lukewarm tea is an abomination in the eyes of all right thinking people.

My lovely daughter bought me a gorgeous porcelain tea pot from John Lewis a fortnight ago. I bought the cup and saucer in Kendals last week just because I love birds and it was so very pretty.
I am really happy that they go together so very well, and make me smile whenever I go into my kitchen.