Peace...

www.allposters.co.uk

Father, Mother, God,

Thank you for your presence during the hard and mean days.

For then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence during the bright and sunny days.

For then we can share that which we have with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence during the Holy Days.

For then we are able to celebrate you and our families and our friends

For those who have no voice, we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy, we ask you to pour your love out in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain, we ask you to bathe them in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed, we ask you to shower upon them the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the world that which we need most.....PEACE.

Maya Angelou

(4th April 1928 - 28th May 2014)  

Little words of wisdom

 

Peace...

www.allposters.co.uk

Father, Mother, God,

Thank you for your presence during the hard and mean days.

For then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence during the bright and sunny days.

For then we can share that which we have with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence during the Holy Days.

For then we are able to celebrate you and our families and our friends

For those who have no voice, we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy, we ask you to pour your love out in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain, we ask you to bathe them in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed, we ask you to shower upon them the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the world that which we need most.....PEACE.

Maya Angelou

(4th April 1928 - 28th May 2014)  

Little words of wisdom

 

Peace...

www.allposters.co.uk

Father, Mother, God,

Thank you for your presence during the hard and mean days.

For then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence during the bright and sunny days.

For then we can share that which we have with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence during the Holy Days.

For then we are able to celebrate you and our families and our friends

For those who have no voice, we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy, we ask you to pour your love out in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain, we ask you to bathe them in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed, we ask you to shower upon them the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the world that which we need most.....PEACE.

Maya Angelou

(4th April 1928 - 28th May 2014)  

Down-in-the-dumps

Yup that's me I'm afraid, feeling decidedly down-in-the-dumps at the moment.  I do try to keep my posts on a more cheerful note but it's been hard these last couple of weeks or so to summon up the enthusiasm to do anything much.  It's not as if I haven't got things I could be doing to keep myself occupied, I just don't feel like actually doing any of them!

Perhaps it's the thought that the kids will be turning 30 at the end of the month ~ which means that I will be 60 in June!  Birthdays don't usually bother me but somehow it seems a little bit scary to find myself marching into my 60th decade.  How can those 60 years have gone by already?  I know that lots of good things have happened over the years but when I look back it's the not-so-good stuff that stands out: the disappointments, the embarrassments, the what-was-I-thinking moments, the what-if and why-didn't-I moments.  I wish I was more of an optimist, a glass half-full kinda gal, but I just can't seem to summon up those feelings at the moment.

I think we are all entitled to feel a little sorry for ourselves sometimes, so for now please excuse me while I sit in the corner and have myself a little pity-party.  I promise I will pull up my big-girl panties soon and normal life will resume. 

Little words of wisdom

 

Peace...

www.allposters.co.uk

Father, Mother, God,

Thank you for your presence during the hard and mean days.

For then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence during the bright and sunny days.

For then we can share that which we have with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence during the Holy Days.

For then we are able to celebrate you and our families and our friends

For those who have no voice, we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy, we ask you to pour your love out in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain, we ask you to bathe them in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed, we ask you to shower upon them the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the world that which we need most.....PEACE.

Maya Angelou

(4th April 1928 - 28th May 2014) 

Little words of wisdom

 

It fits!

 

Do you remember the pouffe cover I made for my Mum?  Well I'm happy to report that it fits very nicely.  Dad sent me a couple of photos:

The top seems to fit well but I think I could have done with adding an extra round before making the sides, as it seems a little bit too snug to my eye.  I can always find some little thing to criticise when I make stuff 😉  I may make another, slightly larger, cover so that Mum can alternate.  Still, she is very happy with the new lease of lift it's given her favourite pouffe which is the main thing, eh 😊 

Cosy...

As the temperature has dropped we've been making good use of the wood-burner most evenings these past couple of weeks or so.  We're using it more this winter than we did last, but that's because our own logs weren't really properly seasoned last year plus we didn't get round to finding a supplier.  It's only a small stove but once it gets going it throws out lots of heat and really warms up the living room, despite the high ceilings.  Some evenings it's got so warm that we've had to open the door to the hall for a while!

We had the chimney swept a couple of days before Adrian's birthday last month, and remembered to ask Ian if he could recommend a log supplier.  Adrian got in touch with the chap Ian suggested, and this bag of logs was duly delivered at tea-time on Adrian's birthday.  The guy who did the delivery was very obliging and hauled the bag off his trailer...

...and up the shared access (from about where the enormous fuchsia bush is), through the black gate here on the left, into our garden ~ all by himself!  Adrian told me that he tried to pull the bag a little to see how heavy it was but couldn't budge it even an inch 😄  

We were lucky with the weather and Adrian got it all neatly stacked in the log-store the next day.

The crocus bulbs are really coming along now; I can almost see them growing taller each day.  This window-box is looking a tad scruffy.  Once the bulbs have finished flowering I'll put clumps of them in the front garden borders, and tidy up the container.  I'm not sure how bad those cracks are but I'm sure I'll be able to find some advice on how to deal with them online LOL  I've been intending to give it a colour makeover for some time, so will give it a couple of coats of the Cuprinol Black Ash stain we've used everywhere else in the garden once I've repaired it. 

I should have taken a photo of the lovely flowers Beverly gave me when she came over for her Dad's birthday/Christmas dinner on the 18th December.  They have lasted so well!  I've cut the stems back a couple of times to keep them going for longer and they are only now on their last legs.  I do love a vase or two of fresh flowers 😊

Peace...

 

www.allposters.co.uk

Father, Mother, God,

Thank you for your presence during the hard and mean days.

For then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence during the bright and sunny days.

For then we can share that which we have with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence during the Holy Days.

For then we are able to celebrate you and our families and our friends

For those who have no voice, we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy, we ask you to pour your love out in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain, we ask you to bathe them in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely, we ask you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed, we ask you to shower upon them the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless sea of substance, we ask you to give to all the world that which we need most.....PEACE.

Maya Angelou

(4th April 1928 - 28th May 2014)

2021: a year with Ethel~Maud

Ah, my beloved Ethel-Maud ~ one of my favourite dolly companions 💖  She is named after both my Grandmothers and was one of the first dolls I bought for myself as an adult.  I came across her whilst I was whiling away some time on Ebay ~ oh, it must be getting on for perhaps 12 years ago now, possibly even longer than that!  I know that she wouldn't have appealed to most folk ~ especially my more dolly-phobic friends 😉 ~ but I thought she had such a sweet little face, and looked so sad to find herself up for sale, that I decided to put in a bid for her.  Actually, if I'm honest, after all this time I can't really remember if I did bid for her or if she was a "buy it now" sale.  Either way I know she wouldn't have cost much at all.

When she first came to live with me, Ethel-Maud initially spent her days with all the other dolls in my collection, in the house, so she had lots of company with the baby dolls, fashion dolls and plushies.  It seemed to me, though, that she was a little shy and didn't feel that she really fitted in with any of them.  So she started to spend more time with me and seemed much happier.  I confess that she quickly became my sweet little mascot 😍

Before we moved I knew that I would have to drastically downsize my doll collection, as there just wouldn't be enough space to display them here at St Abbs.  Those that now live in my craft room are all that I allowed myself to keep (apart from a handful that lounge around in the bedrooms) and for some time little Ethel-Maud was out there with them, too.  Now, though, she is back in the house with me and we both couldn't be happier.....oh dear, you don't think that makes me seem a little weird do you 😲

Well, weird or not, I've been thinking that it would be rather lovely for you all to get to know my sweet Ethel-Maud a little better so I'm hoping to include lots more posts about her over the coming year.  To stretch my limited creative capabilities, I have plans to expand her somewhat meagre wardrobe and have already made a start on that.  It would also be nice to take her out-and-about (adhering to whatever Covid restrictions are in place, of course 😉) for some photo-opportunities ~ even being out in the garden would make a welcome change for Ethel-Maud, I'm sure!

Let's hope that 2021 turns out to be a very much better year than 2020 ~ and despite the fact that we don't intend to do anything terribly exciting or adventurous, Ethel-Maud and I are both rather looking forward to sharing this little project with you 😊   

Happy New Year!

 

Here's hoping 2021 is a much better year

for all of us!