tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9672089099498086402024-02-22T10:18:09.470-08:00An Aga In The KitchenDebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-80925755517273044752019-03-31T17:24:00.000-07:002019-03-31T18:46:50.108-07:00GrowingI had the strangest experience yesterday, and I'm still processing - so please, bear with me.<br />
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I had been struggling with pain, for many months, in my lower back and left hip. It got so bad, I was beginning to convince myself that I probably needed some kind of horrific surgery or other. I could not get out of bed without pain.<br />
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And then, one of my clients introduced me to her Feldenkrais teacher, and it has changed my mobility completely.<br />
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It's been wonderful, and exciting and, above all else, such a huge relief to discover that I do not have to live in pain, and I do not need any kind of surgical intervention. I can learn how to help and heal myself.<br />
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So I've been working 1:1 with my teacher, and I've started taking group classes.<br />
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Yesterday, I was in class, with the teacher and two other students, and the teacher was asking us about how our bodies moved under certain circumstances. The two other students observed that their right foot and ankle were lifting up from the floor as their body began to move.<br />
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OH NO! My foot and ankle were driving down into the floor!<br />
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WHAT WAS I DOING WRONG??????<br />
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I watched my new friends closely, and noticed that there were other differences in our movements - we were sitting on the floor, and they had the palm of their left hand flat on the floor, but my hand didn't reach... was my arm somehow shorter in comparison? Is THAT why my right foot was doing something different to them?<br />
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In what way was I not meeting the requirements for this lesson? What new way to fail at being a person was this?<br />
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Now, before we continue, I should be very clear about one thing - my teacher had done NOTHING to make me feel this way, she had said NOTHING about anyone being 'right' or 'wrong', this was all me, feeling quite certain that, as usual, I was the awkward one, I was the one who couldn't look as lovely as the other students, who couldn't 'do it right'. Nobody else in that room did or said anything to support or endorse my belief, this was all going on in my head.<br />
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I struggled for a few more minutes to make my foot move like theirs, to get my hand to go how theirs did, and I couldn't do it, it felt horribly unstable, I didn't like it at all.<br />
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And so, when it was quiet, and there was time for me to talk, I told my teacher what I could see - that my hand wouldn't go where the other people's hands were lying, and that I thought maybe that was why my foot wasn't behaving.<br />
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And my dear, sweet teacher very gently pointed out that the reason my body was doing what it was doing.....<br />
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was that this is the thing we have been working on together for the last seven weeks, and wasn't it wonderful that my body now automatically supports me by driving that right foot into the floor, rather than leaving me unsteady and unstable by lifting up...<br />
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OH!<br />
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Wait....<br />
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So I'm not doing anything wrong?<br />
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I'm not doing anything wrong.<br />
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I'm ok, this movement is working for me, my body is working for me. It's good to feel unstable and strange when I do the lifting ankle thing, that's what I've been learning for seven weeks, I've been learning how to use my body to support me as I move, and would you just look at that? ... my body IS helping me, my foot is supporting my movement, I can lift my left hand clear off the floor if I choose, my body is stable, and supported, and my wonderfully clever right foot is countering the movement of my torso, balancing me and keeping me steady.<br />
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Not. Wrong.<br />
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And then my new friend next to me says that she has been watching me, as I have been watching her, and she has noticed that, at rest, my foot lies very differently to hers on the floor - and that maybe there's something important in that.<br />
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Not for a moment does it occur to me that SHE might be 'doing something wrong' - isn't that interesting? In my mind, I am almost certainly 'wrong' but my friend... oh she is either 'right' or 'just learning something new' or 'not quite there yet'.... all of which are potentially true, but why don't I speak to myself with that same empathy, generosity, encouragement, understanding?<br />
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And then our teacher sits by us, and shows us, gently, and without judgement, how the differences in our habits are influencing the ways we are moving, and how one way feels stable, strong, powerful, and the other can feel a little unsteady. She quietly works my new friend through the same discovery that I made in our private classes a couple of weeks ago.<br />
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And as I watch them working together, I realise that, as students, we have both been making silent assumptions about ourselves being somehow 'wrong', and suddenly it's clear that if we stop using our comparisons to judge ourselves harshly, if we stop getting in our own way, we can a) realise that we are experiencing something GOOD, and b) help each other and both be stronger and more capable for it. I am not wrong, I am growing, just like my friends beside me.<br />
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And there we sit, on the floor, looking at our hands and our feet, and how our bodies were moving differently, thinking and talking about what feels good and bad, and our third friend becomes involved, and then she is discovering that if she moves her foot to lie how mine lay, at rest on the floor, her neck pain is very much eased, and she can move further and with more ease.<br />
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We are three very different people, tall, short, slender, curvy, younger, older, new mothers, mothers with grown children. We were born in very different places, raised by different parents, in different communities. And yet, we have discovered that our three bodies all benefited from the exact same small adjustments to the way we were habitually moving. And as we harnessed the power of talking with each other, sharing what we could see and feel, I could see us all growing each other's experience.<br />
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It was a beautiful thing, to watch another woman's face change as her body found ease and joy in the simplicity of quality movement. It was an amazing thing to watch the strain of continuous pain wash away from a beautiful face as she discovered that she didn't have to hurt all the time.<br />
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That classroom is a powerful place. Life-changing things are happening there.<br />
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Our teacher has spent years exploring this body of work, every nuance, every detail, such that she can now talk us through how we might take our imagination on a walk and find a new way to move. She has the words, the experience, she has immersed herself in this work so deeply, she knows what we might feel before we feel it.<br />
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She's got this. She can take us on journeys that we cannot even dream of.<br />
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All I have to do is let go of some things. Let go of this view I have of myself as being 'the kid who was always terrible at physical activities'. Let go of this belief that my body is somehow less useful, less capable, less beautiful than everyone else's. Let go of the certainty that I'm always 'doing it wrong'.<br />
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As I learn this work, I am discovering these new ways of moving my body, I am building new movement habits, using the power of my mind to influence how I move, even how I prepare to move - building new pathways in my mind that open up new possibilities in my body.<br />
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And I'm learning how to build new mental habits, new emotional pathways, too.<br />
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I'm growing, and my strong, capable, beautiful body feels amazing!<br />
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<br />Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-38925039618761811392019-02-25T17:25:00.000-08:002019-03-31T17:27:30.169-07:00THERE it is!For years now, decades even, I have been looking for something.<br />
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A very particular something.<br />
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For years I have imagined that there must be something more than physical therapy to heal a body that hurts.<br />
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For years I have imagined that there must be something more than talk therapy to heal a spirit that is anxious, fearful.<br />
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For years, I have imagined a healing modality that considers both the mind and the body, deeply connected, and in need of simultaneous attention and growth.<br />
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Six years ago, I found NIA, or NIA found me, and for a while, it felt good. A lot of healing took place in that dance space, with friends who became unerring supporters, and walls that absorbed grief, rage, and fear.<br />
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But for the last 6 months, NIA has not been healing me. My body has been so sore, so painful, that I truly believed myself to be in need of some sort of surgery to heal me. I have become unable to dance, lift, bend, it's been miserable.<br />
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I tried massage, but that just hurt, more. The therapist gave me stretches to do at home, because my back was 'so tight', but the stretches hurt, and did not do much to alleviate my continuing discomfort.<br />
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It felt like concrete in my back, and when I was upset or anxious, it hurt more.... so I was becoming more and more aware of the emotional component of my pain.<br />
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And then I found the thing I've been searching for...<br />
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the magical connection between my mind and my body, where the strengths and capabilities of one grows and strengthens the other.<br />
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It's called Feldenkrais, and it is a modality that was created very meticulously. In my practice of this, I learn to slow down.<br />
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Slow. Down.<br />
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No, slower than that.<br />
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Slow.<br />
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Down.<br />
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This is proving to be quite difficult to learn, because I naturally go fast!<br />
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But the ease that I feel in my body when I achieve deliberate movement, careful organisation of myself, planned thoughtful motion - oh, it's magic! I've been working all day, my mid back is burning, my low back is tight, one side of my butt hurts - but I know that if I call upon my self-discipline, and go lay on the floor and reorganise how my bones and muscles are connected and speaking to each other, I can make ALL of the discomfort go away.<br />
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My teacher tells me that I might become addicted to this, I don't think she realises that it is already happening! It is SO thrilling to feel better than I have felt in months, years. It is SO lovely to be able to sit on the floor and play with a bunny, and not be uncomfortable when I want to get up. It is so lovely to be able to go out and walk in the winter sunshine.<br />
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And it is so wonderful to NOT be reliant on another human to heal me, but to be learning how to do it for and by myself. My teacher works WITH my body, not ON my body, and she connects the work to my mind as we go along, so that, as one of my favorite NIA songs says "we are all connected", and by 'we' I mean "all the parts of me"! I love it!<br />
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<br />Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-47370597628646030142019-02-21T19:30:00.000-08:002019-02-21T19:30:06.092-08:00Breakfast with a GadgetWe all love a new gadget, don't we? Something we think we can't live without... and then after a couple of weeks the novelty wears off, and it sits neglected in a dusty corner somewhere until we have to move house and then we donate it!<br />
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Sigh.<br />
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Sometimes, however, the new gadget actually succeeds. Sometimes it quietly asserts itself into your life and you truly do use it often, it truly does make life easier or, in this case, food healthier.<br />
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This little thing is fantastic!!!!!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6vJu3FjNMVi0qODjFfmaxYnUWmOKaJ48sbEAjVXH1T4zjNB6Iv7nd8q1stUFvozV5QIBr6mC8M6OmxzdUsBwzqq_075oySmvHY0gU0qBicwaWernR6mzRJg7P7LDoQaHc1ijnkgaIvcY/s1600/sandwich+maker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6vJu3FjNMVi0qODjFfmaxYnUWmOKaJ48sbEAjVXH1T4zjNB6Iv7nd8q1stUFvozV5QIBr6mC8M6OmxzdUsBwzqq_075oySmvHY0gU0qBicwaWernR6mzRJg7P7LDoQaHc1ijnkgaIvcY/s320/sandwich+maker.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">https://www.hamiltonbeach.com/breakfast-sandwich-maker-25475</span> </td></tr>
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It's a breakfast sandwich maker, made by Hamilton Beach, and you can get it for 20-25 bucks at all the usual places.<br />
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It looks a little gimmicky, I know, but it's magic! You just pre-heat it, and then throw half a muffin in the bottom, with a little cooked sausage or bacon and maybe a sprinkling of cheese, and then you put the next section down and there's a little plate for your egg to cook on (so it doesn't all ooze out of the sides like it does in a regular panini press), a little seasoning on the egg, top half of the muffin on top, close the lid, set the timer for 4 minutes, and breakfast is made!<br />
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I know, I hear you, you can buy breakfast sandwiches pre-made in the freezer section, it's true. But holy cow, do you know how much fat and grossness is in those things? This little machine cuts calories like you would not believe! You can use wheat or whole grain muffins. You can use a whole real actual egg. You can drain all the fat off the sausage, or use Canadian bacon (nitrate free if you like), you can add diced peppers, sliced tomatoes, different kinds of cheese. You can go a little mediterranean with your veggies and spices, or skip the meat and be veggie, you can even skip the egg (although it does seem a shame to do that when the egg cooks so beautifully on that little plate!), it's fantastic! We went all philly cheesesteak one day because we had leftover steak in the fridge - threw strips of steak and some cheese in the bottom, veggies on the plate, it was scrumptious! No perservatives, no freezer burn, no extraneous calories - who doesn't want that?<br />
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We got this because my man needs a little protein in his morning, cereal just doesn't cut it for him when he's heading out for the day, and I really didn't like the frozen section option that he'd been used to reaching for. And now, once or twice a week we spend 15 minutes making sandwiches and boxing them up for breakfasts, and everyone is happy!<br />
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The people at Hamilton Beach have no idea that I'm saying all of this about their product, but I figure if anyone is on the fence about whether it would be useful or not, reading this might help them to decide what to do! It does take a little time, but really, not much more than it takes to get the sandwich out of the freezer, unwrap it from the plastic, and nuke it til it's vaguely edible. And you get a much nicer sandwich if you make it yourself, so it's worth that little bit of effort.Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-50363667128804024922019-02-18T14:30:00.000-08:002019-02-19T00:39:40.623-08:00The One. Today I have to tell you where I've been for the last 3 years, and why there hasn't been time for blogging.... (I notice that I intended to write this post a year ago, and then somehow didn't get around to it!).<br />
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Early in 2016, I met someone. </div>
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And when I say 'someone' what I really mean is 'The One'.<br />
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The One who makes your heart beat faster. The One who takes care of you when you're well and when you're sick. The One who makes you laugh like no-one else can. The One who drops everything and holds you when you cry, because what makes you so sad that you need to cry is important to him, just because it's important to you.<br />
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The One who tells you not to ratchet yourself down, not to hold part of yourself back, The One who encourages you to live full throttle, wholeheartedly, even though it scares some people, intimidates some people, makes some people envious, insecure, even angry. The One who tells you that he wants to know you, all of you, the super-smart-overachieving-can-do-everything-you-turn-your-hand-to corners of you that you usually try to hide from people, because your mother said you were 'too much', because your ex-husband said you 'made him feel stupid when you could solve problems that he could not'. </div>
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The One who lets you in, who shows you his weaknesses, his flaws, cautiously, carefully, worried that you might change your mind about him, but determined that you should know the whole person anyway. The One you love, precisely because he is not perfect, and because he is brave, funny, kind, smart. Because his hugs feel like home. Because his smile makes you smile. Because his love makes you better. Because he makes you want to love him in ways that make him better.<br />
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Him. I met him! And it has been the most amazing time!<br />
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We are real, we don't live in a fairy-tale, there are rough times, tough times, there are days when we don't understand each other, there are weeks when we both work so hard we barely see each other.<br />
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And then there are times when we have no children and no homework (he's in school right now, it's a LOT!), and there is time to talk to each other, time to watch tv together, time to each work on our own thing but know that the other one is sitting right there doing their thing, too. There is time for dancing, and napping, and more talking. There is time for 'do we wanna go out to eat, or shall we just scrounge up some leftovers?' because with just us two, we don't have to cook if we don't feel like it. Heaven!<br />
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It is an immensely powerful, life-altering thing, to be loved and accepted exactly how you are. It takes time, to learn to truly trust it, to really believe that it's actually working and lasting and isn't about to implode in your face. It takes more time when the last time you put yourself out there, someone treated you badly, someone cheated, someone lied, someone gave up and walked away. It takes time to trust that this person is not walking away, that when they say they are staying, they actually mean it, and they actually stay. We have had days where one of us felt like the other was on the verge of letting go, when we knew that this day would have broken our previous relationships - and it has taken courage to work through those days, to trust each other, and to believe in the power of two people choosing each other.<br />
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But we're here. It's been a wild and crazy ride, and it's about to go off on a new tangent, but I'll tell you about that another day! </div>
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Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-81819914741652359692018-02-16T15:30:00.002-08:002018-02-16T15:30:47.546-08:00Look What I Found! Oh Look! I found my blog!<br />
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It's been over 2 years since I wrote anything - and so much has happened!<br />
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I found these, yesterday, hiding in the neglected gardens of our rental house. Aren't they glorious? My dear and much missed friend used to love the first daffodils of spring, and yesterday it felt like she had swung by and planted a little 'remember me' in my yard, it was wonderful.<br />
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Anyway, I'm hoping to show up here a little more - to share the fun and games of life in our little corner of the world. <br />
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First news is that there is not, currently, An Aga In The Kitchen. The family home was sold as part of my divorce, the Aga is currently in my garage here, in hopes that one day she will burst into life again, warming our hearts and our home. For now, though, we are renting homes, and she is resting. <br />
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We. however, are not resting....<br />
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I work so many jobs I can hardly count them, but they keep me busy and pay the bills. Eldest daughter graduated university and currently works as a nanny, taking care of small darling children who are so lucky to have her. Youngest daughter has gone off to live in the snow, she's a freshman, hoping to become a physical therapist one day, and she's working hard, making friends, learning through the struggles of freshman year. <br />
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We have some new things to tell you about, but those will have to wait for another day - I need to get some work done today! Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-13704962497247937152015-11-25T16:56:00.001-08:002015-11-25T16:57:56.751-08:00Just To Top It Off!This week has been fabulous, and just to top it off, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/top-it-off" target="_blank">I released a new pattern on Ravelry today - called 'Top It Off'! </a><br />
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Here are my lovely boot toppers, modelled by my lovely Caitlin. The pattern looks fab, thanks to Rebecca's hunting for the perfect 'Scally Girl Knits' font, and I guess that left me to do the design work and the layout! We're quite the team! <br />
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We had a little fun while we were out there - because they'd just blown a huge lot of leaves into a pile... </div>
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<br />Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-10183290940677711512015-11-18T17:22:00.004-08:002015-11-18T17:22:40.675-08:00Do you like Coffee? I don't drink coffee, but I really LIKE coffee, especially today - because look what happened to Drink True North's website....<br />
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<a href="http://www.drinktruenorth.com/" target="_blank">http://www.drinktruenorth.com/</a><br />
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They have my knitwear designs on their front page - squeee!!!!! <br />
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<br />Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-67351458618212398812015-11-15T17:21:00.000-08:002015-11-15T17:21:57.776-08:00Everything Has Changed...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Love this song. That is all. <br />
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No, it's not all, of course it's not, you know me, I always have something to tell you! <br />
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There's this - it's autumn, sort of 'all of a sudden'. (There seem to be a lot of things happening 'all of a sudden' around here, I have no idea what's going on, I feel partly 'more like myself than I've ever felt', and partly 'like I hardly recognise this more assertive version of me'). <br />
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The tree outside my window is still lovely, but you can see how sparse it's become in the week since I took the coffee cup picture! The weather changed, the wind got up, and the leaves are on the ground.<br />
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Today was a beautiful day, dry, breezy but not too cold, just cold enough to justify hand knit gloves - perfect! There was time for a quick post-knitting-class trip to Perrigo Park to blow out a few cobwebs, and then home to get dinner and chores started. And now the sun is setting, the beef is roasting for dinner, laundry is doing itself, and I have a little time for this... </div>
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Yup, it's cast on a new project day, and I'm excited about this one. It's a test knit for the lovely Pamelamama, brioche stitch, autumn colours, soft squishy knitting - what's not to like? </div>
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These are my colours....</div>
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all my favourites - Black Trillium, Madelinetosh, Malabrigo - yum!!!! The end colour is a fabulous cocoa brown that the camera just isn't capturing, but maybe in daylight I will be able to do it justice...</div>
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We'll see, you might even be lucky to get a progress report, or a picture of the finished piece... sometimes I do blog more than once a year! </div>
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Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-35732103428520599362015-09-29T21:33:00.002-07:002015-09-29T21:33:34.326-07:00Still Summer...I know I said it was "Time For Socks" but the weather thinks otherwise - it's actually rather lovely still. There's a chill in the mornings, though, so I know the socks will be in use soon...<br />
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They did get finished: <br />
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And I have some other knitting to show you, too, but first... we have two new family members. <br />
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This is Lucas, he's a red eared slider, and he's just living with us for a year while his Momma is in a dorm room. Next year, when she's out of dorms, Lucas will go home. It took him almost a week to get brave enough to come out of the water onto his basking shelf, but he's confident now, and doesn't even leap off when he sees us approaching! <br />
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See that little ceramic turtle at the back of the ramp? Today Lucas learned how to throw it into the water! :-) How charming he is! <br />
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And this is Victoria, although she seems to mostly be 'Tory' these days - she is a beautiful little pale gray-brown gerbil, almost the exact color of MadelineTosh 'Whiskers' (my yarn friends will know what this means) and she is a peach - so friendly and fun! <br />
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I have some new knitting designs to share, but it's late, and I'm sleepy, so they'll have to wait...<br />
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Goodnight Moon!<br />
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<br />Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-19875192027944764682015-09-07T11:56:00.001-07:002015-09-07T11:56:17.742-07:00Time for SocksIt's here, folks, already - it is time for socks! The warmth of summer may come back for one last hurrah, but the last couple of days have been chilly and rainy, and when I walked in the door of Tolt Yarn and Wool yesterday and saw their beautiful display of Hyak hiking socks, I knew I had to have a pair or two...<br />
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So I bought two skeins of yarn and the pattern, and yesterday evening I did this...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two skeins of Cestari two-ply aran weight wool on a US 5 - going to be a pretty hard-wearing sock! I'm excited! </td></tr>
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The US Open is on tv, Andy Murray will be playing in a bit, and it's Labor Day, so I have the day off work.... these socks are just asking to be knitted, right? <br />
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There are a couple of practical things that need to be taken care of - a quick trip to get haircuts, Kohls to get some new jeans for the eldest, essential oils to be blended and sprayed around the outside of the house to keep the monster wolf spiders at bay (hey, does anyone have a really good natural way to keep those little beasties on the OUTside of the house? Let me know if you do, all ideas gratefully received.) - but for the most part, there's just tennis and knitting... should at least finish the first sock today. Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-25616498823808783602015-02-22T23:00:00.002-08:002015-02-22T23:00:35.478-08:00Beer Goggles. So we went to Whidbey Island this weekend, and stayed here,<br />
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Caity spent most of the weekend wearing her best friend's jacket, because it just made her feel a tiny bit better than the 'completely awful' that has pervaded much of the last 6 days. It still feels a lot like the whole accident happened to someone else. </div>
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if you can't tell - this was my chair! I sat here quite a lot, by which I mean 'I lay here half-comatose from when I got out of bed until it was time to go back to bed'! </div>
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The beach house was close to the ferry boat terminal, which was wonderful, because I wasn't well enough to do very much except sit in that chair by the window, so having the boats to watch was very cheering! <br />
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We got there Friday night, and I managed to sit up and play cards for a while before we all crashed out for the night, and then on Saturday morning Cathy went off to Langley and gathered up clues for the annual murder mystery weekend that was taking place there. I did this...<br />
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quite a bit, whilst looking out the window at this...</div>
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this is the front deck of our little beach cottage. </div>
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oh look, there's the ferry boat - I saw quite a lot of ferryboats, or rather, the same two ferryboats quite a lot of times, this weekend! </div>
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It was a pretty short walk to the water really, but was too far for me to go on Saturday - I made it on Sunday morning, with a cup of tea, and sat right under that flag, watching the orcas play in the water. The ferryboats divert their crossing route to give the orcas enough room, which is lovely! </div>
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Poppy, being a very good dog, took it upon herself to make sure that I rested plenty, and so she spent most of the weekend pinning me to the chair... </div>
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she's very good at it! </div>
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I have taken more Advil in the last 3 days than I usually take in 3 years, I am exhausted, bruised, exhausted, beaten up, and exhausted. I have worn sweats all weekend, I have slept in the sweats I wore during the day, and in the morning just changed into different, clean, sweats, I have been well fed, filled with gallons of tea, I have slept, watched ferryboats, petted the dog, eaten something someone else prepared, and slept again, steadily, for 48 hours. I have barely knitted anything which, for those who don't know me well already, I should point out is astonishing, because I'm always knitting something or other! </div>
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This afternoon I did manage a shower, and then fell asleep with my hair still wrapped in a towel, so you can imagine how it looked when I woke up - yeah, THAT good! Let's just say, it was a good match for the sweat pants! </div>
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And this evening we drove the whole entire mile to the ferryboat, sat in the line for a while, got on the ferry, got off the ferry 15 minutes later, and went to Ivar's Fish and Chips to get supper. </div>
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As we walked back to the car with our supper, some people spilled out of a bar, haphazard and giggly, and a girl said to us 'you should go in there, it's really fun in there' and a guy said 'yeah, and I just put $20 in the jukebox and picked songs they won't let me listen to' - and we laughed and agreed that it must be a very fun place, because they were obviously very drunk and had already had WAY too much fun - it was, after all, only 8 o clock at night! And we herded our two teenagers by, and the guy looked at my girls and stated loudly 'Your Mother Is Gorgeous!' - and we all laughed our heads off because, really, I'm in sweats, I have 'slept in a towel' hair, I'm on too many Advil and I look like, well, like I was in a car wreck 6 days ago! </div>
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But hey, you gotta take your compliments where you can get them, right? </div>
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<br />Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-46997547460184492992015-02-20T15:33:00.000-08:002015-02-22T23:02:26.067-08:00Cravalanche!In the last 2 weeks, three people have asked me 'do you still blog?', and I wondered whether maybe the Universe is trying to tell me something...<br />
<br />
I can't really tell you why I stopped, suffice it to say it's been a challenging couple of years, and I'm not planning to revisit any of it here, so let's move forward and see where we go...<br />
<br />
Let's begin with the addition to our family dictionary:<br />
<br />
Cravalanche (Noun):<br />
1. (literal) An avalanche of crap.<br />
2. A continuum of challenging events that has no known cause or any discernible date of cessation. These events have not been earned nor are they deserved in any way.<br />
<br />
How to use it in a sentence: the last 4 weeks of my life have been an absolute cravalanche! <br />
<br />
Picture examples of events that may contribute towards a cravalanche: when you do this for a living,<br />
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and then this happens while you are minding your own business walking down the street...<br />
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or when you need to use this every day,<br />
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and then this happens while you are stopped outside of school letting kids cross the street...<br />
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It's not good! Those who love me have gently informed me that I have a black eye, bruising on my back that I cannot see, as well as the things that I am aware of, of course. And my own body informed me unceremoniously today that I have to go to bed and I don't have any other options!<br />
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The upside is that my wrist is barely noticeable now, under the cravalanche of other things that hurt. It's 3.30 in the afternoon, and I'm going for a nap! <br />
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<br />Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-37227477465665903452014-02-03T13:54:00.002-08:002014-02-03T13:54:32.313-08:00Unstuck!I'm sitting here procrastinating about working my way through a free printable coaching course on 'getting unstuck'. Today has been a banner day, I have filled in paperwork that has been hanging over me like the Sword of Damacles, and now it is DONE, and I can let it go. <br />
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I have signed up for a course that I am not looking forward to, I fear it will be practical and unfeeling and not at all the way I like to do things, but it is a legal requirement that I attend, so go I must. <br />
<br />
I have battled fear today, and won, for now. <br />
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And now I am trying to become 'unstuck'. <br />
<br />
My calendar challenge for January was this...<br />
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and there was a lot to learn in that short inspiration. I did let my voice out, I did raise it a little, and it felt good to have a little power. I did say 'no' and I did say 'enough', I did speak up. </div>
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February, however, is going to be tougher... </div>
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I know the answers to these questions, but I am afraid to step forward, uncertain of where the path goes, or how much there will be to learn, juggle, find money for - 8 months have passed, and I'm still 'doing it scared' in a lot of ways. <br />
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What makes your heart sing? <br />
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What is it that most arouses your passion... and what are you willing to risk? <br />
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This is the difficult part, what AM I willing to risk? Where will I stop? What is 'too much'? Where is 'too far?'. <br />
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"She discovers what she was born to do" - it's going to be quite a month! <br />
<br />Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-78524845834603447342014-01-26T10:05:00.002-08:002015-11-16T08:01:49.121-08:00Say Something. it hurts to let go, but sometimes it is just what needs to be done. This week has been a turning point for me, conversations, experiences, thoughts, and inspirations, all dropped into my consciousness in a very short space of time, and something inside me began shifting. And then, finally, this song. <br />
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Say something, I'm giving up on you.<br />
I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you.<br />
Anywhere I would have followed you.<br />
Say something, I'm giving up on you. <br />
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This song haunts my heart, I hear it in my sleep, it speaks to me. <br />
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It is time to let go of my old life, of the hurt and the fear and the disappointment. It is time to give up on some things that just aren't going to work out in a good way. The song says so. I AM sorry that I couldn't get to you, but that's not my fault, and it's okay to stop trying. <br />
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And so, inspired by the work and words of writer Lissa Rankin, by the power of my NIA dance teacher Pauline, and by the beauty of this song, I am letting go, and letting be. I am resting, waiting, not grasping for what I think I want or need, but giving it up to the Universe, and letting new things come to me. <br />
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I'm giving up on you, I'm cutting you loose, letting go of needing to know where or how you are, I'm giving up on you, but I'm not giving up on ME. <br />
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Inspired by NIA, I am RAW, Relaxed, Alert, and Waiting. <br />
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I have no idea what might be in store for me, but I know that chasing it won't make it happen if it's not meant to happen. So say nothing if that's what you want, or fight for my attention if you think that's what you need - either way is fine with me, I'm letting go now, and there's nothing you can do about that. <br />
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I am untouchable because I have let go. Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-89078277382297064832013-06-12T08:47:00.000-07:002013-06-13T06:15:03.048-07:00Doing It Scared.I feel like I am standing on the edge of a precipice this morning..<br />
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Last week was tough, really tough, 6 months of living so very differently, and I was doing okay until my dance friend announced that she's going through the same struggle, and younger daughter moved on from denial into anger, while daughter the elder buried herself in studying for her Freshman finals (4.0 in 'English as narrative', one point shy of a 4.0 in Statistics, last final for Law class is this morning and she is holding her breath!).<br />
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It's been fun! I felt terrified, overwhelmed, disoriented, we've been trying to remortgage the house and there've been some weird things with that, it seemed like it wasn't going to work out and I was going to have to continue trying to afford the extortionate rates while others have a nice new low rate mortgage, it was all very difficult and it didn't feel like there was much solid ground for me to stand on. <br />
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I was thinking about potential work, what could I be?<br />
<br />
- occupational therapist? I already have teaching qualifications and experience, working in schools as an OT would be my sort of thing... yeah, but basically need medical school to qualify, unless I am an 'assistant', which wouldn't earn enough money to keep me, let alone the kids.<br />
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- Physical therapist? Still helping people, which would be great, but still needs a lot of medical learning, don't have the time or the money for that much training.<br />
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- NIA teacher? Oh yes please, but it would be a couple of hours a week and would not pay the bills, would be fun though!<br />
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- Life coach - my dance teacher says 'life coach', and some of you have said similar things, get paid to advise, support, encourage, help make plans, to basically do all the things I already do with people... so I looked that up online, too, and found that there is training and support for starting one's own business, and that it's new, but it could be a big thing in the next few years.<br />
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All of this was madly swirling in my head, none of it looking like a solution to the economic issues in my near future, all of it feeling like too much, too difficult, too impossible. <br />
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I kept hearing my friend Sharon's advice - do what's necessary, and then what's possible, and pretty soon you'll be doing the IMpossible. I've done what's necessary for the last 6 months, I'm feeling like it's time to go for 'what's possible' but that's scary and overwhelming, and the way forward is unclear.<br />
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And then at the weekend my friend posted on Facebook that she's looking for someone who can write in HTML code, to help her with an excess of work, and I thought 'well, I used to be able to program, how hard can it be?', so I went and found a free tutorial to get started, and by the end of yesterday I had a working webpage that I could change font size, colour, background on, I could write a bulleted or numbered list, I could bold or italicize things, I could insert a picture, or a link to a webpage - it was fun, and DD2 was very impressed that I could make an internet page - I was pretty impressed myself! <br />
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I messaged my friend, to say 'hey, how complicated do these clients of yours need things to be? Do you think I could learn this stuff in time to be able to maybe help you out?' and I got back...<br />
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"Here's another tutorial so you can learn some more about it, I think you can do it, oh, and by the way, I know a couple of life coaches, want me to pass on your contact information?". <br />
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And there it is - the precipice.<br />
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A turning point? The opportunity that I've been believing would present itself at some point? Maybe, maybe not, maybe TWO. <br />
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I found this at the weekend, whilst searching for the author of a quote that had come to my attention... it's an excerpt from a blog post, and the author is quoting a story from The Reader's Digest. <br />
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<i>The blog author writes - "I read the story in Reader’s Digest, and I haven’t read the Digest in decades. But the story has stuck with me through the years. </i><br />
<br />
<i>The multistory office building was burning, and its occupants streamed down the stairwells, parting to get around the woman standing frozen at the top of a flight of stairs. Finally a man stopped beside her and said quietly, </i><br />
<i>"You have to go down." </i><br />
<i>She replied, "I can't." </i><br />
<i>He said again, "We have to go. Now." </i><br />
<i>"No!" she repeated, "I can't do it." </i><br />
<i>"I'll do it with you," the man said, taking her arm. </i><br />
<i>"But I'm scared," she cried. </i><br />
<i>To which he said, "Then do it scared."."</i><br />
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I have spent the last week crying "But I'm scared", but this morning I said yes to my friend, yes, go ahead and connect me to your friends, and now I'm off to take the second step down the staircase, and investigate that tutorial she sent me. <br />
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This is me, doing it scared. Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-24634796659883009712013-05-20T18:11:00.001-07:002013-07-22T23:56:34.587-07:00The Power Of Joy. A dear friend wrote to me this morning to tell me a little about the sermon at her church yesterday - it was about 'enthusiasm'.<br />
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Reading about ‘enthusiasm’ made me think about my NIA teacher and her relationship with joy.<br />
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I was talking with her about another of my dear friends, who works hard, up
and about and moving all day long, she eats relatively little, and yet she is heavier than she would choose to be, and she hates it. I said that for the amount she eats relative to the amount she moves,
it makes no sense for her to be so uncomfortably upholstered, and my teacher
said ‘well yes, but what does she do for joy?’. The more we have talked
about it, and the more I have put names and physical attributes together
with lifestyle and behaviour, the more I have realised that those who
move with joy are the ones who lose the weight they hate. Those who move with joy are the ones who beat cancer. Those who move with joy are the ones who live well, love wholeheartedly, and are happy, in feast and in famine.<br />
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I have noticed that we often wear our moods like a
badge of honour, and that, sometimes, that badge is actually poking a hole in our soul with the sharpness of it's pin.<br />
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And so, I threw out a challenge to my dear friend, and it went like this... you should read it like I'm talking to you, because this is a universal challenge, open to all who dare to step out of their routine and live a different life.<br />
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<i>Dear friend, my challenge for you, be it a new
way to exercise or something else entirely, is to find something,
anything, however small, that brings you joy, and spend a little time
with it every day. </i><br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Some people move, some people write, some people put their hands in
the dirt, some people meditate, some people cook, some people have pets -
it doesn’t matter what it is, but it must be there just for the joy. A
pet is a big responsibility, but that feeling of being unconditionally
loved is joyful. Cooking for the family is a daily requirement, but some
days, just getting out in the kitchen and creating something beautiful
for the fun of it can be joyful.</i><br />
<br />
<i>
</i><i>I do NIA, and I watch my friends little ones, and I work at the yarn
store, and I rep for my friend Karin and her yarns, and I raise my daughters, and
keep my house, and some days it feels like the world is tugging at my
skirts ‘mum, mum, can you help me with…?’, all the time. </i><br />
<br />
<i>But there are always joyful
moments in there, moments in NIA where the movement feels so free, so
cheerful, moments with the young children where the baby falls asleep on my
shoulder or the little 4 year old boy climbs into my lap and pretends to
be a little mouse and there is pure happiness. Moments at the store
where I remember who I am and that I am strong and capable and clever
and a good teacher and a calming influence and a good organiser and a
fun person to be around, and all of that feels good. Moments with friends where we’re just so in tune that we don’t need to finish the sentence.
Moments, many moments, with my daughters, where they are just sunshine
itself and all the worries and anxieties just fall away, powerless in
the face of happiness and laughter. Moments where even cleaning the
house can feel successful and cheering and uplifting - we are slowly
going around painting over all the dark brown depressing doors and trim
with shiny white paint, and the whole mood of the place is changing, not
only because of our sunshine but because of the light and the colour
that is pouring into our lives from outside.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<i>
</i><i>Find your joy, I wrote to my friend, wherever it is hiding, look for it, find it,
label it ‘joy’ and then immerse yourself in it. It’s incredibly
empowering, wonderfully uplifting, and I have a feeling that your weight
will no longer be a burden to you, emotionally or physically, if you
can find a way to focus on the sunshine rather than the chores. It’s
easy to go along burdened and weighed down by the daily grind of chores
and maintenance and health needs and phone calls and emails and and and,
the media shows us that everyone lives that way - but it’s not true,
the smart people don’t live that way, they live in a place where
gratitude and enthusiasm and joy are the cornerstones, not debt and
burden and failure.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<i>
</i><i>We can’t be irresponsible, we can’t let go of our responsibilities,
our chores, our bills, but we CAN and we SHOULD move them to a lower
level of importance in our day. They need to be taken care of, but
they’re just details, what REALLY matters today?</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<i>
</i><i>For me, what really matters today is that my fabulous pet sitter understands how very welcome she would be here as part of our home and
family - she’s a young lady from the yarn store who I work with on
Sundays, she’s great and she was in a panic because she has nowhere to stay after the end of July… except now she has a room in my house while she looks after our pets and we get to go on vacation! Everybody wins! :-)</i><br />
<br />
<i>
</i><i>What really matters today is that I get some time to hug my girls and
catch up with what’s going on in their lives, I had 15 minutes with
Becca this morning where she told me about her courses for fall and how
excited she is to have got the courses she really wanted, and her wish
to go to camp overnight in mid-June, and her hopes of having a job as a
TA in the fall, and that her papers are falling out of her accordion
file so she really needs a new one!</i><br />
<br />
<i>
</i><i>This afternoon, I need that time with Caity.</i><br />
<br />
<i>
</i><i>What really matters today is that I get 90 minutes at the park with
my little friends, where we can enjoy the sunshine, and I can watch the beautiful little girl's hair get blown around by the wind, and I can watch the wonderful 4 year old boy run
for all he is worth, and be reminded of the joy of just being alive.</i><br />
<br />
<i>
</i><i>What matters today is that I connect with you, for a little while,
and remind you that you have so much to offer the world that is
important and life-changing and invaluable to us all.</i><br />
<br />
<i>
</i><i>I need a new checkbook, I need to book the dentist, I need to clean
the house a bit, I need to move some furniture to make room for our new petsitter , but those things are not the cornerstones of the day. The joy of
the four young people who inhabit this day, the love of you, my dear
friend, the encouragement of my friend who needs a place to stay
for a while - THOSE are the cornerstones of Monday, those are the gifts I
can give and the blessings I receive.</i><br />
<br />
<i>
</i><i>What are yours? Can you identify the difference between the chores
you need to get done today and the things that really matter to you
today? Can you find the joy in the things that really matter? Can you
find satisfaction in crossing off the chores? Can you spend a little
time in a place where your heart is full, and then take that feeling on
into the rest of the day with you?</i><br />
<br />
<i>
</i><i>You and I may never be in the same room at the same time, but it will
never matter, because we are always going to be friends, the world is
not big enough to keep us apart. And the world is not big enough to keep
you from living the life you want to live, so pick one thing, today,
one small thing, for the love of it, and let yourself feel positive
things.</i><br />
<br />
<i>
</i><i>It feels a little strange to start with, this act of purposefully
putting joy into your day, but it will become a habit. Choose happy, my friend, actively choose it, every day, I think it will make your journeys MUCH more successful.</i><br />
<br />
<i>
</i><i>Much love to you, and grateful thanks for the journey that you helped
me get started on - your faith in me, your encouragement, your love,
they all helped to keep me moving forward in positive and strengthening
ways, even on the darkest days, and I hope that one day I am able to
reach you in the same incredibly powerful way and offer back to you the
strength and courage you have given.</i><br />
<br />
<i>
</i><i>Debbie <br />x</i><br />
<br />
I hope that, by sharing what began it's life as a personal message between two friends, I have given you all something to think about today, and that you will find the courage to change one small thing about your day, in order to make space for some sunshine. <br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i>Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-27420881302959636002012-12-31T03:06:00.002-08:002012-12-31T03:06:47.339-08:00Out With The Old...It's now New Years Eve - only because we have chronic insomnia in our house tonight - ordinarily we'd be asleep at this hour! But since we're awake, here's a quick photo tour of the last couple of days...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrTDYnDXGfoZHZ3eyLMwoK2tXy18wTFDcWOZNn5zOJ0pfZZw_v01S6TdWhLMGi-S73Y2QUGIHri4EuBCYRMCqz8x_pmyDfJbDsLBjU0TbSHAjXTlwf-nLmL_y8_Xhi9aE14mMMlxX89fE/s1600/20121019_160721.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrTDYnDXGfoZHZ3eyLMwoK2tXy18wTFDcWOZNn5zOJ0pfZZw_v01S6TdWhLMGi-S73Y2QUGIHri4EuBCYRMCqz8x_pmyDfJbDsLBjU0TbSHAjXTlwf-nLmL_y8_Xhi9aE14mMMlxX89fE/s400/20121019_160721.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HAHAHAHAHA! We've done a lot of this, and a lot of tv watching and reading and not much actual 'doing' of anything. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaDfSJrVjEySLBOgKWMmr2dMZAe-u4OvqGYJrcDzlGq_G83FgLS34Ri8PfvmvkNfQami-RtPjF6Z8KUOjajyxxPkxxn9kZe8iPbKr4NmU6-uaCLbiEWSQnoILCpqZ5EHxdHJbFh1YL2mE/s1600/20121228_184951.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaDfSJrVjEySLBOgKWMmr2dMZAe-u4OvqGYJrcDzlGq_G83FgLS34Ri8PfvmvkNfQami-RtPjF6Z8KUOjajyxxPkxxn9kZe8iPbKr4NmU6-uaCLbiEWSQnoILCpqZ5EHxdHJbFh1YL2mE/s640/20121228_184951.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We found this little sweetheart at the pet store while we were waiting for movie time to come around. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Ii9GA6KBnHzgjD5gHMEbMVPWm0BsUhN1nNTtp93crztKsh7eBkmQ_C5AjHiS874qkabJMOubATCwyCXHcnm_hyop78geUfjxsyD0CezLW2dDaeCcrWGouCQrZby5D-Q-wn2g1syRZMc/s1600/20121228_184958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Ii9GA6KBnHzgjD5gHMEbMVPWm0BsUhN1nNTtp93crztKsh7eBkmQ_C5AjHiS874qkabJMOubATCwyCXHcnm_hyop78geUfjxsyD0CezLW2dDaeCcrWGouCQrZby5D-Q-wn2g1syRZMc/s640/20121228_184958.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How cute is she? I have to be careful, I'm very pet vulnerable at the moment! We could end up with a zoo in our house!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5XO9wTHVZEy7j2NNn3DOTLbj9_khvE24vIrwBpe53kLiCKguDM4YUDpx9wqTabbnw6d9WD-DrDSSzqGIc879JwlGYElYPWc_dJw4piKmguNo_rfmxVhxj2C31kfLPYEl_0Lk6QYeMZuw/s1600/20121230_175358.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5XO9wTHVZEy7j2NNn3DOTLbj9_khvE24vIrwBpe53kLiCKguDM4YUDpx9wqTabbnw6d9WD-DrDSSzqGIc879JwlGYElYPWc_dJw4piKmguNo_rfmxVhxj2C31kfLPYEl_0Lk6QYeMZuw/s640/20121230_175358.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last evening we went to the town centre to visit the Centennial Bonfire. Love how it was next to the Christmas Tree! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUzSA3LvZgp2R2o7a8jSdhk46F9AmLf1o9m3DVhxYxFg6whAec_4Vhbk9DShKY91f2cOUJ0dLefP4WUpw55ZeITn5RX_SzsNP0_OcfJh5-yK7Fk0QZ3yXQgzjQ8L2gCx22rxC0eYB2mE/s1600/20121231_024331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHUzSA3LvZgp2R2o7a8jSdhk46F9AmLf1o9m3DVhxYxFg6whAec_4Vhbk9DShKY91f2cOUJ0dLefP4WUpw55ZeITn5RX_SzsNP0_OcfJh5-yK7Fk0QZ3yXQgzjQ8L2gCx22rxC0eYB2mE/s640/20121231_024331.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and here's an arty late night shot of my current knitting project and my beautiful new yarn bowl. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After we've got some sleep, we're planning an 'out with the old' day, checking our resolutions that we made at the start of the year, seeing how far we got with them, and cleaning the house up a bit, ready for the next year's arrival in about 21 hours from now. It's been the toughest year of our lives, and next year may be much harder, but we're heading into it with as much courage as we can muster! Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-67656937626018438892012-12-29T11:22:00.001-08:002012-12-29T11:22:10.841-08:00Visions of sugarplums...It feels like a long time since we harvested delicious fruit from the garden and the hedgerow, but a dear friend asked me today about sugarplums, and so here's a picture or two of the pretties from our garden...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaS7dEpMh18cdNf7EckIUqvASA6DjcMpN-rAq_kdl8JllGruxGXBFaPx12VjweVzhew1CJbzHIO_AsBojbLheP-GfBqtD30y6Xie8QGxJYigOvqGvU2j4fP1n4rd35akmEwT_my9wDdC4/s1600/P1180883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaS7dEpMh18cdNf7EckIUqvASA6DjcMpN-rAq_kdl8JllGruxGXBFaPx12VjweVzhew1CJbzHIO_AsBojbLheP-GfBqtD30y6Xie8QGxJYigOvqGvU2j4fP1n4rd35akmEwT_my9wDdC4/s640/P1180883.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">apples and sugarplums from the garden, blackberries from the local hedgerows.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPS1G4TF2HBezUo7YGWjRmTTJ4ugzrcu7su3UKhYL51qd8eLLUT4PjjmUY3OCMkhO5081eEvwXlmhyphenhyphenFGdJz9XU2Fi_n-0c6CcNJ4fbc_1GXtIRPxj21vF1-QyGYhjHtK8irH-BUckz0Q/s1600/P1180884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPS1G4TF2HBezUo7YGWjRmTTJ4ugzrcu7su3UKhYL51qd8eLLUT4PjjmUY3OCMkhO5081eEvwXlmhyphenhyphenFGdJz9XU2Fi_n-0c6CcNJ4fbc_1GXtIRPxj21vF1-QyGYhjHtK8irH-BUckz0Q/s640/P1180884.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">they're so pretty! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In investigating sugarplums, I have learned that the 'sugarplums' from the Night Before Christmas are actually not plums at all, but plum-shaped confections made from chopped dried fruit and nuts and rolled in sugar to make them pretty! Who knew? Looks like we might have to make some of those soon, since our tree plums were eaten up months ago! <br />
<br />
It's a quiet day with the Aga today, we're hanging out at home, the fire will be going as soon as I'm done chatting to you, and we'll be reading and knitting and resting and healing. We have vague plans to make mince pies later, but we'll see... Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-47025456316104817592012-12-26T15:55:00.002-08:002012-12-26T15:56:23.213-08:00RestingHappy Boxing Day! <br />
<br />
It's been a pretty intense few months here at the Scally house, but today we are resting. Tea, knitting, movies, books, blankets, footstools, comfy pillows - all of these things are featuring heavily in our day today.<br />
<br />
So, in lieu of all the posts I haven't written over the last 3 months, here's a quick photo tour of life at our house... <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYwF-PGK7D5dd4csJ0TeHv18aiw2kS0UiUHONRhADechDvX1CL-FNo0FToc9EkEIMZJDcX2yOeknp_-Seal0y4mtTo4vDHJ3h7u9s9oTAqtdTi4q2mqcWKnULSfV2KiAe4EaEUP1lIs68/s1600/P1220313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYwF-PGK7D5dd4csJ0TeHv18aiw2kS0UiUHONRhADechDvX1CL-FNo0FToc9EkEIMZJDcX2yOeknp_-Seal0y4mtTo4vDHJ3h7u9s9oTAqtdTi4q2mqcWKnULSfV2KiAe4EaEUP1lIs68/s400/P1220313.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We've had yummy autumnal dinners.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQv5_mAXBKRVt-9bvvNHBKYUWKJIw1JpWRYakygRxCS4JwWmK-ZvjP3MxO0qOG_a9zowIjPooF2bgHBI1PRIGCOaRXdqgglBfdH1Y6Gfllg20Her9jYAx8RdhHDVR6XAqYeUPXr9qt8F4/s1600/P1220323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQv5_mAXBKRVt-9bvvNHBKYUWKJIw1JpWRYakygRxCS4JwWmK-ZvjP3MxO0qOG_a9zowIjPooF2bgHBI1PRIGCOaRXdqgglBfdH1Y6Gfllg20Her9jYAx8RdhHDVR6XAqYeUPXr9qt8F4/s400/P1220323.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We've made beautiful cupcakes that look like adorable shoes! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAyr3aQ_iZXyNbwhb1Cy49kY1xt2eUSHaXV0_eZEyurUbduanaWuUE661kSDtaXIFk-N32XnI9PkRqq3-gQG3f3EeM2whlCcFBota0w6Rqq4OByW2T-_SO9Cs0Q4xtgosY4OLwQj8fg-8/s1600/P1220325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAyr3aQ_iZXyNbwhb1Cy49kY1xt2eUSHaXV0_eZEyurUbduanaWuUE661kSDtaXIFk-N32XnI9PkRqq3-gQG3f3EeM2whlCcFBota0w6Rqq4OByW2T-_SO9Cs0Q4xtgosY4OLwQj8fg-8/s400/P1220325.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caity made most of them, but this super-sparkly pair were made by Becca! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP4k_dozhwQsXRlbQkn4bJ_CjAyIHBLP3Std6Q8Ft9EgvF0zPIUnAwgBA3j6Nv5JlmGNh4t8Wcaut903aYBH4QT4UbxyKDLepavjHE8Hbu5suoGrBSPcLXVSrnaPIS56TQOn87jSTBn98/s1600/P1220329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP4k_dozhwQsXRlbQkn4bJ_CjAyIHBLP3Std6Q8Ft9EgvF0zPIUnAwgBA3j6Nv5JlmGNh4t8Wcaut903aYBH4QT4UbxyKDLepavjHE8Hbu5suoGrBSPcLXVSrnaPIS56TQOn87jSTBn98/s400/P1220329.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caity made a cute gingerbread village for Hallowe'en.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLBpGr2F850BlBeiK6_hpgVP0PV7JFNWHgF9QCo9_4ioA5j4lrtvkpX1qrpELC8GdiGUkNrPUthKfYGh3OnNH3KVmWbt2NJZC3jUe-1NjLJYH2mCshZw05htgtRwJXm8eP-kMVYaHy_ZI/s1600/P1220339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLBpGr2F850BlBeiK6_hpgVP0PV7JFNWHgF9QCo9_4ioA5j4lrtvkpX1qrpELC8GdiGUkNrPUthKfYGh3OnNH3KVmWbt2NJZC3jUe-1NjLJYH2mCshZw05htgtRwJXm8eP-kMVYaHy_ZI/s400/P1220339.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We celebrated Thanksgiving! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxBXW_Z8G6R_dyNkDT6WwYVyXYlgxURppfBTt-lBOeI4TQiF6HqKP79ceKRTZ7mbrSwhla8Tb3OUGILKnepCKmxAhAcyyfKlF2iaK0JlT9K-hGwHDHE3hJpBE1vu4U1Y1wnYY_pgfdjwI/s1600/P1220342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxBXW_Z8G6R_dyNkDT6WwYVyXYlgxURppfBTt-lBOeI4TQiF6HqKP79ceKRTZ7mbrSwhla8Tb3OUGILKnepCKmxAhAcyyfKlF2iaK0JlT9K-hGwHDHE3hJpBE1vu4U1Y1wnYY_pgfdjwI/s400/P1220342.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We made felted slippers. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZQzMvGUA6kPAUygFPT9QgJz8SMZaOhKkxgn90Ua3s10g7_dZ7gV6vJrKhwkcuzumS5z_HRFISIjKqGsie3OMhsAPIvWdjC2GIC2NVAAFqYZ6szFC6uTgpVt8PAcQndvUSyCdetX0Vwo/s1600/P1220346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcZQzMvGUA6kPAUygFPT9QgJz8SMZaOhKkxgn90Ua3s10g7_dZ7gV6vJrKhwkcuzumS5z_HRFISIjKqGsie3OMhsAPIvWdjC2GIC2NVAAFqYZ6szFC6uTgpVt8PAcQndvUSyCdetX0Vwo/s400/P1220346.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and snuggly warm socks.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjri8FYSjRrGhoE8eOul0Mh2M3po_ZSo_BbnkwfvxL7qtkpRyLy4bDWJJMvHdkJw06K2tyv_GLDNWQUbG7rTNXSeitOYu3S28H3eHpl-HPUPAB1gf0t9IVg1E7TlEQtTfAwDwtE-lnMIjk/s1600/P1220351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjri8FYSjRrGhoE8eOul0Mh2M3po_ZSo_BbnkwfvxL7qtkpRyLy4bDWJJMvHdkJw06K2tyv_GLDNWQUbG7rTNXSeitOYu3S28H3eHpl-HPUPAB1gf0t9IVg1E7TlEQtTfAwDwtE-lnMIjk/s400/P1220351.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and beautiful squishy wraps. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglechWYrtvadUiaEM38ejnJC2oTctMd2i9AWRF-YYim96L8E1nMJRwzO1Nksz5iO0afBPWBUdn4zpxDK7ESJHrWcsp6_DuR_8330CgqnOF8OauP7_z7-qSa7XcD-AMGLLEeCxOI2WHnuw/s1600/P1220362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglechWYrtvadUiaEM38ejnJC2oTctMd2i9AWRF-YYim96L8E1nMJRwzO1Nksz5iO0afBPWBUdn4zpxDK7ESJHrWcsp6_DuR_8330CgqnOF8OauP7_z7-qSa7XcD-AMGLLEeCxOI2WHnuw/s400/P1220362.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fuschias in the window box woke up early for spring! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeJGxJIPka_3GFTEFMRHhOPR8eAILJzuIaJLabvH8QxHCP8X3eUk7hFY4EE8KlYBTaoOc6TzLPE-UtnE5nFkb0JBFAGb3r4yfnOWqxKWNBfVzBjmfV56aEZJUMdpOUwxUk23zFu0I2gVU/s1600/P1220364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeJGxJIPka_3GFTEFMRHhOPR8eAILJzuIaJLabvH8QxHCP8X3eUk7hFY4EE8KlYBTaoOc6TzLPE-UtnE5nFkb0JBFAGb3r4yfnOWqxKWNBfVzBjmfV56aEZJUMdpOUwxUk23zFu0I2gVU/s400/P1220364.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We festooned the inside of the house with fairy lights. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguEC3UmBR9RUeCU1MZP5bRkBCV6xcIGULJ-0rK5saDnkz3Qglqi09afT7Yd9MCwBjaLHWDjalpIMCPvDAVSIIgH3ZskAW6xUWmY8YHMOI58GOfYQPOMS6DY1TGOlC7xDFYaM7Gj26cB2Y/s1600/P1220366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguEC3UmBR9RUeCU1MZP5bRkBCV6xcIGULJ-0rK5saDnkz3Qglqi09afT7Yd9MCwBjaLHWDjalpIMCPvDAVSIIgH3ZskAW6xUWmY8YHMOI58GOfYQPOMS6DY1TGOlC7xDFYaM7Gj26cB2Y/s400/P1220366.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We made a tower out of Christmas Crackers. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwWEiSLwaNWrt3eR4D5YUPiG8B9SB7q1RL8v-K3Q4IEFx9NLJFxmcA3Ua28zaaqA_f77PLo5PsP9y2dJXSKsbQ6rVkbRYTX4dm5W1uRA1zzKoaFN5MlMB3yg5G6ZI6PFuzFzolKRdjy-A/s1600/P1220371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwWEiSLwaNWrt3eR4D5YUPiG8B9SB7q1RL8v-K3Q4IEFx9NLJFxmcA3Ua28zaaqA_f77PLo5PsP9y2dJXSKsbQ6rVkbRYTX4dm5W1uRA1zzKoaFN5MlMB3yg5G6ZI6PFuzFzolKRdjy-A/s400/P1220371.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We dragged a tree into the house and made it look beautiful! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0YiNC62zHMG3UKW6nbF2-oi4kctO3Cg3aGjc7Kv8kZEJuCtIDwRrhzlKgCYnuchbAsn7B6nS9zaD-FCM_yKy0bqdWKyWlspJlxs-DCCNQmxtCkKREvSumk4alI-bktq1ZPInbtb3yvYA/s1600/P1220372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0YiNC62zHMG3UKW6nbF2-oi4kctO3Cg3aGjc7Kv8kZEJuCtIDwRrhzlKgCYnuchbAsn7B6nS9zaD-FCM_yKy0bqdWKyWlspJlxs-DCCNQmxtCkKREvSumk4alI-bktq1ZPInbtb3yvYA/s400/P1220372.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were spoiled rotten by lovely friends! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrcTXShFYimbyhpcG7ynFHzxreqZeUpxsMw52J6Y-jTzZo7l-YqPFobH03BHWuSZPtAK21AtPo300UhMPU2m8GS5B4hf85XlYKIZyaRxaUu53F5cknKwU-RjlETdjM2j-nu3vDnfrWsIU/s1600/P1220384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrcTXShFYimbyhpcG7ynFHzxreqZeUpxsMw52J6Y-jTzZo7l-YqPFobH03BHWuSZPtAK21AtPo300UhMPU2m8GS5B4hf85XlYKIZyaRxaUu53F5cknKwU-RjlETdjM2j-nu3vDnfrWsIU/s400/P1220384.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We made Ninjabread cookies - the girls decorated them so well, they're hilarious, and they taste great, too! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZFNKxnTNtrq70asj-QNEWN4PsieSSK38Xl4MuQF2FcUbHpuGuae2TUnD7XInrDnZUIz1AMhoqVSE8RylcMX_-yJfhY5zzaOxmbfKV6SvquHI_0QC80joC6UwWLsiEnNNyG6L4KIrBQ3Y/s1600/P1220387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZFNKxnTNtrq70asj-QNEWN4PsieSSK38Xl4MuQF2FcUbHpuGuae2TUnD7XInrDnZUIz1AMhoqVSE8RylcMX_-yJfhY5zzaOxmbfKV6SvquHI_0QC80joC6UwWLsiEnNNyG6L4KIrBQ3Y/s400/P1220387.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's a ninja cowboy! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LISYa4JFzgtiqC5h5hVb730M6pSsih-Wl0JYOd0pngRffeNKyIJK2DAxKaGINxNH8D8W0hjLscbunhbBRGPkW9eXW5XQy9xlFg3savP7Dn-xxXWRMDtzgGWPBtQveD8p3mpT5_sHZNI/s1600/P1220390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LISYa4JFzgtiqC5h5hVb730M6pSsih-Wl0JYOd0pngRffeNKyIJK2DAxKaGINxNH8D8W0hjLscbunhbBRGPkW9eXW5XQy9xlFg3savP7Dn-xxXWRMDtzgGWPBtQveD8p3mpT5_sHZNI/s400/P1220390.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santa came and filled the girls Christmas sacks with fun gifts. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnP_BVikO-3wJZllWsaDK3CpI2KoXzjn3z9aAXYyghwaFesJCfMXkClCZIVjMhB7TMQkiTSsfo1IoTZjvv4OkhlTLjkvV_yP9cgmbw4A4F0PGCp9hoQNDnHjjtUZl6CEVmE4zCf8GQbs/s1600/P1220392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnP_BVikO-3wJZllWsaDK3CpI2KoXzjn3z9aAXYyghwaFesJCfMXkClCZIVjMhB7TMQkiTSsfo1IoTZjvv4OkhlTLjkvV_yP9cgmbw4A4F0PGCp9hoQNDnHjjtUZl6CEVmE4zCf8GQbs/s400/P1220392.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caity got a GIANT teddy bear! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkUaVmtVwor2gUllbEaX8l_Sk7hxJYLJh55lx7ILiDFhPdxF38XDSshUk8-zpBf8jHsRsGTreAvsDLIueRS77SWYqF8-7f18KSCmK2thXdeZj_LulIffDoCBr0cllvRljtF2t5TaeYxn0/s1600/P1220395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkUaVmtVwor2gUllbEaX8l_Sk7hxJYLJh55lx7ILiDFhPdxF38XDSshUk8-zpBf8jHsRsGTreAvsDLIueRS77SWYqF8-7f18KSCmK2thXdeZj_LulIffDoCBr0cllvRljtF2t5TaeYxn0/s400/P1220395.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowglobes and nutcrackers arrived, just like every year. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0YflnQ5SjexU38WsiIBKbxnYK_Hj2hEcbyKojIeWjyH-Za96JyFEgLa-hV3lRgcwC373C1YOCPmxVGHAHR2SpoZcHMRrHg_4mf0yKDCyMcZvIx6i6qdV7ZuRpK2HO3iERewWJj9sjtxs/s1600/P1220397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0YflnQ5SjexU38WsiIBKbxnYK_Hj2hEcbyKojIeWjyH-Za96JyFEgLa-hV3lRgcwC373C1YOCPmxVGHAHR2SpoZcHMRrHg_4mf0yKDCyMcZvIx6i6qdV7ZuRpK2HO3iERewWJj9sjtxs/s400/P1220397.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and the table looked beautiful for Christmas dinner. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There's been a lot happening, and there's a lot more where that came from - hopefully it won't be three months before you hear about it all! Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-47311257295784986222012-09-19T10:28:00.001-07:002012-09-19T10:28:20.798-07:00In Which Connie Is Very Busy. Summer is beginning to wane here at Scallyville, mornings are a little foggy, night-time is a little chill. Usually this makes me sad, because I love to be warm, I love the sun, and the endless grey chilly days are difficult. <br />
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I've been enjoying the long summer, working on projects like this beauty -<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzoAHRcebdzlL5h2G0dH8l1KqxMUYz42yHxO4o7pEQgd1zD-6FOttn6vsNOTe-wiwtl_gHbZNeZQgdDi90jv3YCNwtBCcZpylua243taFS-vbp3yF05gdouAdncAI7ck2sfL1QrAYjpqY/s1600/P1220221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzoAHRcebdzlL5h2G0dH8l1KqxMUYz42yHxO4o7pEQgd1zD-6FOttn6vsNOTe-wiwtl_gHbZNeZQgdDi90jv3YCNwtBCcZpylua243taFS-vbp3yF05gdouAdncAI7ck2sfL1QrAYjpqY/s400/P1220221.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
it's a shawl, named Bivalve, in a yarn colorway named Atlantic, and I love it! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpxcbYGwHFPwIR05Drsx2S2SU551rQoxzKLHKP9Y-58s4ZOJSKFsMLwCBK12XNWdr6w1rCbEwOUInAHwmDuXKwpmTHwwrT9WMdYsPGAEGiGSIlhFqvo0JDcGl-x3EUGHgkDiESz8hyphenhyphen1TA/s1600/P1220215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpxcbYGwHFPwIR05Drsx2S2SU551rQoxzKLHKP9Y-58s4ZOJSKFsMLwCBK12XNWdr6w1rCbEwOUInAHwmDuXKwpmTHwwrT9WMdYsPGAEGiGSIlhFqvo0JDcGl-x3EUGHgkDiESz8hyphenhyphen1TA/s400/P1220215.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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this is what makes summer fantastic - look how the light travels through the fabric - gorgeous!!!! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRU-uYpVQempGt8oGSih2vOdPOLp6WYhsgTuTMIiGI7ir6Sdg6NN821nEdEiZvC7Wkbg1oMnYitS2SdczV8vevmgUgcncBHQKL5SSiDLao63PjiM9DdCsfl-EgUYE_LMOwpvvtcfiE5BE/s1600/P1220218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRU-uYpVQempGt8oGSih2vOdPOLp6WYhsgTuTMIiGI7ir6Sdg6NN821nEdEiZvC7Wkbg1oMnYitS2SdczV8vevmgUgcncBHQKL5SSiDLao63PjiM9DdCsfl-EgUYE_LMOwpvvtcfiE5BE/s400/P1220218.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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And so it's a little sad when those fabulous slow days are over and the routine of school starts up again. <br />
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But this year I have Connie, my faithful Aga. <br />
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She's been busy the last 24 hours. Monday she made plum chutney with the beautiful little sugar plums from our tree. We had so many we weren't going to be able to eat them all before they went soft, so I preserved about half of them. <br />
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Yesterday she slowly braised chicken in red wine, and last night I threw a tray of slightly sour table grapes into the warming oven. <br />
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This morning when I woke up, I had raisins! <br />
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Yummy! Raisins are pretty expensive around here, grapes are a dollar - seems silly not to make my own raisins since I have the tools for the job! <br />
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Right now there's basil drying, and thyme, in the warming oven, and the smell is wonderful! <br />
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On the cooktop I have cranberry sauce simmering (I love the sound of popping cranberries!)<br />
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and there's another tray of grapes washed and ready to be raisined overnight tonight. Maybe fall is not so bad after all. Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-69746008178526558632012-07-20T22:51:00.005-07:002012-07-20T22:51:43.216-07:00Sort Of Like A Museum Of Crap...So I was chatting with a friend about our little cottage and all the quirky contents, and she said 'Despite the clutter the cottage sounds fun. Sort of like a museum of crap!' which got me thinking, and today we've taken some pictures to show you what we've been sharing the last 2 weeks with. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicv86KNsNwtjciRp-SbuRPjk67xvnRM929-Bk-cDyVTWRmrg9e6wX9d10BKLjbjym3E8IT8BjhQnJa9VRhRTVrMnzYQeeYc45FpuOj_9aEclFF8uV5m-S3Z5SPi6euUGNQjDWwQTYsB7c/s1600/P1210960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicv86KNsNwtjciRp-SbuRPjk67xvnRM929-Bk-cDyVTWRmrg9e6wX9d10BKLjbjym3E8IT8BjhQnJa9VRhRTVrMnzYQeeYc45FpuOj_9aEclFF8uV5m-S3Z5SPi6euUGNQjDWwQTYsB7c/s640/P1210960.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There are some fun things, like this hollowed out section of tree outside, where people have collected their favourite treasures from the beach. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQxUNWyTixWg7E2prldlx0EvNyF2Uf0jt-2iwQUaeCxcMQe-ZTkC3w3Q6oZZRskv46kgUdAjiSglryHCIzUt5WNlDeTCAzP37fvb1qnQ5DUY2EQV9-GXgLcgPXiDlRbnvvybpaQ4xRLOI/s1600/P1210999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQxUNWyTixWg7E2prldlx0EvNyF2Uf0jt-2iwQUaeCxcMQe-ZTkC3w3Q6oZZRskv46kgUdAjiSglryHCIzUt5WNlDeTCAzP37fvb1qnQ5DUY2EQV9-GXgLcgPXiDlRbnvvybpaQ4xRLOI/s640/P1210999.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There are some quirky friends, like these 8" high penguins on the mantle shelf. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvoRcbqeSEeYMWoFKRwdChWYcJyeSkIxoW_qU_ZMGWbQYEZC1en9borRVRDUFTG01pUIwJnL7oP_9nJY3EQ6SBunQGYpYUzggphFj8NWjWFWJ8P1PxM-iItpoQs8HUIg53DlbwWkMjnqI/s1600/P1210998.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvoRcbqeSEeYMWoFKRwdChWYcJyeSkIxoW_qU_ZMGWbQYEZC1en9borRVRDUFTG01pUIwJnL7oP_9nJY3EQ6SBunQGYpYUzggphFj8NWjWFWJ8P1PxM-iItpoQs8HUIg53DlbwWkMjnqI/s640/P1210998.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then there's the video collection, of which this is just one shelf. 2 copies of Fargo??? </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqapnuR_j7Bw2z7VPjo37H0sdJgjSa0mtWgna6R5qQTK_pAC4SV3ZnbzEPT0aETKatB06Oe5KPNvz04a9fWU6Bxi-DWBhbIk05G_g41Sn9mRWZtldOUPNrE4r4vmcIsAS0qsB2uf15S6A/s1600/P1210995.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqapnuR_j7Bw2z7VPjo37H0sdJgjSa0mtWgna6R5qQTK_pAC4SV3ZnbzEPT0aETKatB06Oe5KPNvz04a9fWU6Bxi-DWBhbIk05G_g41Sn9mRWZtldOUPNrE4r4vmcIsAS0qsB2uf15S6A/s640/P1210995.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"We have left some shelves and cabinets free for you to put your own things..."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-p3mfirGyKhCsNALf27Tv4A_CkUvTK6y4l0La_pYgHctOcxID6uktXVppMYZ3b9mepiqCsg9O5Z3KGbOyOzfxHFAxHcr2veg6Z-jfRfKdmpI-gn8bnZE2e75nDamxmsgsFLp_UdjWa0/s1600/P1210996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-p3mfirGyKhCsNALf27Tv4A_CkUvTK6y4l0La_pYgHctOcxID6uktXVppMYZ3b9mepiqCsg9O5Z3KGbOyOzfxHFAxHcr2veg6Z-jfRfKdmpI-gn8bnZE2e75nDamxmsgsFLp_UdjWa0/s320/P1210996.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Really? </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizLntDArfTXt-OXqxCk_Z3qCNGDILP9qi0HoLztoXf8Ur0e8J6gWq0XYmHHGDof1DbedmK3Q0Q4PJLAYRPYvt8z3CW3sbPJnxQbhRR-sTPcbghrRLAB2ZVxbc9YaT-mtyGTpzTOx3D_a4/s1600/P1220008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizLntDArfTXt-OXqxCk_Z3qCNGDILP9qi0HoLztoXf8Ur0e8J6gWq0XYmHHGDof1DbedmK3Q0Q4PJLAYRPYvt8z3CW3sbPJnxQbhRR-sTPcbghrRLAB2ZVxbc9YaT-mtyGTpzTOx3D_a4/s320/P1220008.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where exactly? </td></tr>
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We kept most of our clothes in the suitcases, and our food on the kitchen counter, there was no cabinet space to put anything. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0SwRW7YxMLKeDhdg5g0mTN84Ag_DLlPiNWNmxGJbOXtjy4QJCKT2_cDl3_7SBSB5UUunS90IDjAF_ibcYRBPIQ1D05Re-QPbKlFnbuGyBA0Z51LFeDu291GiYE5d4YGI8RMWWYMORWto/s1600/P1210994.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0SwRW7YxMLKeDhdg5g0mTN84Ag_DLlPiNWNmxGJbOXtjy4QJCKT2_cDl3_7SBSB5UUunS90IDjAF_ibcYRBPIQ1D05Re-QPbKlFnbuGyBA0Z51LFeDu291GiYE5d4YGI8RMWWYMORWto/s320/P1210994.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Brian's favourite drawer, he found all sorts of useful man-things in here! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMUKjfpofT76_MS8w7snd4maAhgdns31-X7Hlq4sv4lDRmkz6KC8vh3xHFAc2NH9FPlErXJHyamuPcZSJPEqUUmK1peAp-ovydIC6Pb4jYjm1FEVwmCL1QEG9CtqlQKV8nY6mtiv_Xag/s1600/P1210997.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIMUKjfpofT76_MS8w7snd4maAhgdns31-X7Hlq4sv4lDRmkz6KC8vh3xHFAc2NH9FPlErXJHyamuPcZSJPEqUUmK1peAp-ovydIC6Pb4jYjm1FEVwmCL1QEG9CtqlQKV8nY6mtiv_Xag/s320/P1210997.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Did you forget your glasses? There are 6 pairs in here, maybe one of them will work for you...</td></tr>
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That deck of cards was one of many, at least 15, all wrapped in elastic bands. <br />
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Then there are a few things that are just a bit strange....<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVOeytFrYWhPBbP9gd17jvgiquytomV0lAfh91FXVuPO4jqnUgb-J1A_QE7azoOuio4aepGTXpx3Jyao9rGox7BkcKQfjeThrVQy6Dv2Y4SdtPqMwBoAks1QC0NdjNNOSWts167TTDJLI/s1600/P1210993.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVOeytFrYWhPBbP9gd17jvgiquytomV0lAfh91FXVuPO4jqnUgb-J1A_QE7azoOuio4aepGTXpx3Jyao9rGox7BkcKQfjeThrVQy6Dv2Y4SdtPqMwBoAks1QC0NdjNNOSWts167TTDJLI/s320/P1210993.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">anatomy of a hand? </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTGbEr0olf9X4uFHULa2pEBWFi3XRPpvKpTomoKOvNRn3ZUUrIO9YmUxK-ZG3Rd4TRzZaVBOvVhlFo-AIgF2soO0K-RKdtY3x06tDJrIKyz5Xo8vit7RF3VY6Ih3dWKCSfnlb3lV-8tg/s1600/P1220005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTGbEr0olf9X4uFHULa2pEBWFi3XRPpvKpTomoKOvNRn3ZUUrIO9YmUxK-ZG3Rd4TRzZaVBOvVhlFo-AIgF2soO0K-RKdtY3x06tDJrIKyz5Xo8vit7RF3VY6Ih3dWKCSfnlb3lV-8tg/s320/P1220005.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boxing Gloves? </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisx5hX4rKKzTm9c2Nm7EtINB3eqwylDM6I-OTNrCsEqKKiR1qZ-4r2buMi6iRW0W_1SGuNaktodNxZzwQbKmy14sVPpr-XB_E_4NAfV7KZ2NMlkAnkDlhzuQhPmHvCehPWrgE72qucZO4/s1600/P1220012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisx5hX4rKKzTm9c2Nm7EtINB3eqwylDM6I-OTNrCsEqKKiR1qZ-4r2buMi6iRW0W_1SGuNaktodNxZzwQbKmy14sVPpr-XB_E_4NAfV7KZ2NMlkAnkDlhzuQhPmHvCehPWrgE72qucZO4/s640/P1220012.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 'loft'? I think this was rather extravagantly advertised - it's barely 15 inches high, not long enough for a teenager, and rather claustrophobic! The ladder to reach it has to be propped against the bed that it shares the room with and is a bit of a precarious climb. I'm not sure it should have been advertised as 'a bed', really, but it gave us somewhere to store the excess cushions from the beds and couches!!! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBY2c8pKkoY0l4Ry5_RTVYTvJHpVIkvVjx2BQ2cdiugKD4pJ564fMwLbdCmzz0Giegtz0ucnNAW9fw64Bn8SAzRWxpy6hujkXfPmKv_cmNE9PTfpm7xnuiXADRNR40-fkikZp9jXDkUA0/s1600/P1220001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBY2c8pKkoY0l4Ry5_RTVYTvJHpVIkvVjx2BQ2cdiugKD4pJ564fMwLbdCmzz0Giegtz0ucnNAW9fw64Bn8SAzRWxpy6hujkXfPmKv_cmNE9PTfpm7xnuiXADRNR40-fkikZp9jXDkUA0/s640/P1220001.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">not sure if the 'plant' is real or fake, but the apple is definitely not the real thing - what use one might have for a silver apple, I am not sure...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQTSkL3xgv8ma5ZORV_e_46m3QOAjvwwOhvmWuQ9zMBfwOuOGaFyYt9LS2Vwm3K0rs5MAYGyvH3yEUWmXqErGqjgn9PLE_DlyDBsN1fLhdYUt1-L26BG3GibAXcaPBzVNODyx283XrNU/s1600/P1220003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQTSkL3xgv8ma5ZORV_e_46m3QOAjvwwOhvmWuQ9zMBfwOuOGaFyYt9LS2Vwm3K0rs5MAYGyvH3yEUWmXqErGqjgn9PLE_DlyDBsN1fLhdYUt1-L26BG3GibAXcaPBzVNODyx283XrNU/s640/P1220003.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At first glance, the top of the bookcase seems to just have more clutter, of a boating variety, but a closer look revealed this...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3lN8YoH_frJwQoqG68K0PCXATiN5_LVumXkCilxjng76raJRNFMO6pm6OcJSzkTPNs3CfBdMZGaTyNkLSyTYgPU_42_mRl8FCfo8t8lwyHhVQfyfUdWUl0P0gJsGoUoWE9Y0QxrwSuU/s1600/P1220004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3lN8YoH_frJwQoqG68K0PCXATiN5_LVumXkCilxjng76raJRNFMO6pm6OcJSzkTPNs3CfBdMZGaTyNkLSyTYgPU_42_mRl8FCfo8t8lwyHhVQfyfUdWUl0P0gJsGoUoWE9Y0QxrwSuU/s640/P1220004.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boat is balanced on the stand, with a weight, so it actually rows - super cool! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI3AvI26416MZaVtRbj4D5DR02UNj_YsDfsaC9t2x64kje5zqo0QpABKyd9QRb2qmmUQfNKjuw7vShm43DdPAdJDCZKRks7phxNraohOrbifKtBLopLfbTthkd0IKg4RUu-wzA0KoQFhc/s1600/P1220006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI3AvI26416MZaVtRbj4D5DR02UNj_YsDfsaC9t2x64kje5zqo0QpABKyd9QRb2qmmUQfNKjuw7vShm43DdPAdJDCZKRks7phxNraohOrbifKtBLopLfbTthkd0IKg4RUu-wzA0KoQFhc/s640/P1220006.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Windows are a good place to put things, too, apparently - although we felt they obscured both the light and the view! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There are lots and lots of pictures on the walls, and some under Caity's bed, too, just in case they should find themselves running low! <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMgc3HukCneRireNkN-Oy6aJEgunoMLuLCUpcfOT_axJ_SUP-wUiqycjV5odZCBDrLf3ckaMwYGp9XehlqhtICnkhtkW9haq4yDOpaLy1-uxGlqNMnmORq2w1BmxijpX-UuDIo9HKMT-w/s1600/P1220007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMgc3HukCneRireNkN-Oy6aJEgunoMLuLCUpcfOT_axJ_SUP-wUiqycjV5odZCBDrLf3ckaMwYGp9XehlqhtICnkhtkW9haq4yDOpaLy1-uxGlqNMnmORq2w1BmxijpX-UuDIo9HKMT-w/s640/P1220007.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A seagull with her baby - just like the 'fuzzy rocks' that hatch outside Brian's office. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There are curiosities like this lamp...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSt6DppM8V9HqRi6etQHiSB8ngGpo-TSKqEu6Bnm9HWnCsV_AqkXWFZ7I4ExSSyMH1j6BuOwo63PAtJlIfxStz_MqY5hOXQxa1CqgiWEcKB4c6SZ4dXnHKhEaK8febmBuF0AL83BtrFcQ/s1600/P1220009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSt6DppM8V9HqRi6etQHiSB8ngGpo-TSKqEu6Bnm9HWnCsV_AqkXWFZ7I4ExSSyMH1j6BuOwo63PAtJlIfxStz_MqY5hOXQxa1CqgiWEcKB4c6SZ4dXnHKhEaK8febmBuF0AL83BtrFcQ/s640/P1220009.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do you think she knows she has a table lamp growing out of her head? </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
and these felted rocks. They're heavy, they actually DO have rocks inside - now I love yarn, and felting, but I love rocks too, and I'm not sure that their natural beauty is enhanced when they are wearing 'rock cosies'. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUQWeo7lNjLnX1l4om7oB4q8fk2Q49pxGOv-ISSMZrjjsjTQ7YhmvblsDP0Vcm_xD4249Xg4Kq84vTzAbsRHCcYpyU_940b5ToTNysMkkTRbc6JRWIcWYjhlvFaa2bcse3veI9G1SeG2Q/s1600/P1220011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUQWeo7lNjLnX1l4om7oB4q8fk2Q49pxGOv-ISSMZrjjsjTQ7YhmvblsDP0Vcm_xD4249Xg4Kq84vTzAbsRHCcYpyU_940b5ToTNysMkkTRbc6JRWIcWYjhlvFaa2bcse3veI9G1SeG2Q/s640/P1220011.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fuzzy rocks!!!!! And a felted bird! My yarny home!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's been an adventure, that's for sure. I have more pictures to share, of the outside, it's been quite a day for weather! But for now, I'm off to make a cup of tea and enjoy our last evening. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-6270989998185136522012-07-20T09:49:00.003-07:002012-07-20T09:49:51.219-07:00Flying by...A whole week has gone by, so fast! Last Saturday I went back home, and spent the weekend with the pets and Netflix and the spinning wheel, which was great. I caught up the laundry, watered the plants, enjoyed the quiet. On Monday I came back up here to Camano and spent the day with the family. Bri and Caity went swimming,<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIf88tc5UZkaQshgrUPycBGQ2CHLsywohRV5xpFq0fNsqunHUR9MadLYImbECvNwm6kGsjbpQBfkQZv_LzEPCBrcMPFa6Ui200PimGXM4pxzsXSSIzFl4qWMGdjb58VUjP1o3FVQGqvco/s1600/P1210941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIf88tc5UZkaQshgrUPycBGQ2CHLsywohRV5xpFq0fNsqunHUR9MadLYImbECvNwm6kGsjbpQBfkQZv_LzEPCBrcMPFa6Ui200PimGXM4pxzsXSSIzFl4qWMGdjb58VUjP1o3FVQGqvco/s640/P1210941.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
and we went for a walk along the beach, and took a picnic, which we ate sitting on a long in a sunny spot<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at the camera everyone...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">or not!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNiqqlCdYSy5BaroUYOJLP0KR9lthZY4wLnu3i0gP5epatlMyohRwev6KiiRODKKVszitkFhYDlr1a-rdj7_yN6BBjsnIybsVT4so5MUT4jiTJgDSkZ4L1bYar4g-I_M15RCO_aZ5kFU/s1600/P1210931.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivNiqqlCdYSy5BaroUYOJLP0KR9lthZY4wLnu3i0gP5epatlMyohRwev6KiiRODKKVszitkFhYDlr1a-rdj7_yN6BBjsnIybsVT4so5MUT4jiTJgDSkZ4L1bYar4g-I_M15RCO_aZ5kFU/s640/P1210931.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">okay, whatever, I'm just going to take pictures anyway! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
- this turned out to have not been quite as well planned as I thought because Bri had his tides backwards, so the tide was heading IN, not OUT, and we came back OVER all the fallen trees and driftwood, which Becca absolutely loved! <br />
<br />
Caity had some fun with a deck of cards...<br />
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We could tell that Daddy was here because the house was suddenly more techy than it had been before! <br />
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<br />
On Thursday night we had a really big thunderstorm, lightning went on for hours and hours, and it was still raining when I woke at about 7 on Friday morning. I wasn't too pleased to be awake that early, since I'd only had a couple of hours sleep, but it was worth the early awakening to find this friend outside... <br />
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It's grey and chilly, I sent the girls back to bed to sleep some more now that it's quiet, I wonder what today will bring...Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-56910741310143339752012-07-13T23:05:00.000-07:002012-07-13T23:05:09.040-07:00Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday<b>Tuesday</b><br />
<br />
Today my body has figured out that it's on vacation, and I am TIRED!<br />
<br />
This
is like the first few days after Becca finished finals - she was fine
for a while and then she crashed, exhausted and spent. It's been a
lovely day but both girls have been mothering me this evening, so I'm
assuming I look pretty bad right now and I'm tucked up in bed with
laptop, book, and knitting. The girls have gone off upstairs to play
cards, listen to music, and giggle quietly! <br />
<br />
We took a
longer walk on the beach today, after a slow morning in which I spun
some yarn, and Becca made pancakes. We took off a little before 3,
thinking that we had about 90 minutes to walk, and then 90 to get back
before the tide started to rise significantly and we ran the risk of
being cut off from the path home. In the end, we didn't get nearly as
far as we planned, because we stopped to chat to Ladybug the sausage dog
and her owners, and then we stopped so the girls could climb on a
fallen tree and admire the view from 8ft up in the air. <br />
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<br />
Then
we stopped so that Becca could go exploring in a quiet little hideaway
under a fallen tree that is still in full leaf. And when our 90 minutes
were up and we turned to come home, we discovered that the return
journey took a mere 30 minutes! It was still lovely, and we found some
excellent sea life under the seaweedy rocks. <br />
<br />
Becca
found mussels growing all over the place, tucked in tree trunks, against
rocks, there were thousands of them. <br />
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<br />
<br />
This made us look a little
closer, and we found limpets, teeny tiny black whelks, and soft crabs
lurking underneath the rocks. <br />
<br />
<b>Wednesday</b><br />
<br />
Today was a quiet, at-home sort of a day. We read a lot, played cards a lot, ate a lot, and I did a fair bit of spinning. The girls spent a couple of hours on the beach in the late afternoon sun, reading and chatting and trying to find some stone skipping skills to show off to their Dad when he arrives for the weekend! It's a very different experience being on vacation with the girls, compared to being at home with them. For some reason the change of venue has chilled us all down a lot and we're happy just hanging out and being together. <br />
<br />
<b>Thursday</b>. <br />
<br />
Today was a big trip out day, we drove up to Fairhaven and then on to Bellingham. There was lots of fun to be had in Fairhaven, it's a beautiful little town with a pottery, a glassworks, and a woodshop to visit, where local artisans have space to display and offer for sale their work. It's lovely to see all the different styles of work and we were lucky to have time to wander around and appreciate all of the pretty things. We had lunch in a London Double Decker Bus, which was a rare treat - fish and chips, at that! Bellinghan was reaching the end of its day by the time we got there, but we enjoyed the waterfront - Bellingham Bay is beautiful, especially when the sun is out...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I tried to see if Johnny Depp was in this great pirate-ish looking rigger, but he must have been sleeping off the rum below decks! </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There was some sort of race going on here but we couldn't make out who was winning! </td></tr>
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and the chocolate shop, and then drove the scenic route home, down Chuckanut Drive. <br />
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<b>Friday</b>.<br />
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Today was a very very strange day. I was woken at about 8 by a HUGE clap of thunder, and cleared space in my bed for the daughter I knew would be along shortly. Both of them arrived a few minutes later, and since we were all awake we had some breakfast and pulled all the chairs up to the windows so that we could watch the show - it was quite spectacular. <br />
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This part of the world does not often get thunderstorms, and so when they do happen, they are big news. Today was no exception, everyone was talking about it, and everyone was watching. We even had rain for a while - first day this vacation that it hasn't been bright and sunny all day long. <br />
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We did a little housetidying, played a LOT of cards, and ate a yummy salad for lunch, and then we put ribs in the oven to cook long and slow, and we played more cards as we waited for Dad to arrive. His journey was long, the weather and the Friday afternoon traffic conspired to add an hour to his journey, but he was here in time for dinner, and got a walk along the beach after dinner with the girls. They took some video of the lightning, which is still decorating the sky to the north of us, 15 hours after it started! <br />
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I'm heading home tomorrow, to feed the pets, do some laundry, water the plants (all the veggies and container plants are needing daily watering in the heat that home is experiencing since we left), and I'm hoping to get in some quiet spinning and knitting time, too. I'll be back on Sunday evening/Monday morning to spend next week with the girls while Dad goes back to work. we had initially planned to bring the pets here for Dads long weekend but the cottage is so small that we don't know where we could put them and not be tripping over them, so they've stayed home in the air conditioning, which is probably better than being here in the storms anyway! <br />
<br />Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-80900973607340834262012-07-10T00:48:00.003-07:002012-07-10T00:49:25.154-07:00TenuousIt's been a lovely day, if a little weird. Our link to the outside world was expected to be a little tenuous, and indeed it was, but not in the way we expected! <br />
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We woke expecting to have no electricity, as per the sign at the end of the road announcing the 'scheduled outage from 8 til 2' today. When it got to 11am and we still had a light on, I put a loaf of bread on and said a quick prayer to the Goddess of Yummy Lunches, asking that 2 hours might elapse without any disturbance to our dear and beloved bread maker.<br />
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We had a late breakfast, because we all slept til around 10, (I confess I got up at 7 and opened the door so I could hear the waves crashing on the wall, it was high tide, and then I fell back asleep listening) <br />
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and then we lazed around in the sun reading books. Late afternoon we decided we were hungry so we made a spot of lunch, and then we lazed around, reading books. Then we played a game called Hoopla, which is one of those great Cranium games that are always fun, and we laughed a lot, and at about 8 we realised we'd had no dinner, so we fried some sausages and mashed some potatoes and listened to some cd's that are stacked in the cabinet here. I educated the girls on the loveliness that is The Mills Brothers, and then we caught a few tracks of Glenn Miller, a little Simon and Garfunkel (the cd is badly scratched after track 4, very disappointing) and on to Nat King Cole.<br />
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As I stood in the kitchen moving potatoes around in the pan with my hands to get them all under the water, singing along to the Mills Bros, I suddenly realised that I was living my Nan's life, she used to do the exact same thing - it was lovely to remember her so suddenly.<br />
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After dinner, we lazed around and read books, fought with the dodgy internet, took pictures of the obviously broken connector and sent them to Dad so that he might figure out how to fix it, and eventually discovered a way to prop up the ethernet wire so that it connects with the circuit board, but I mustn't nudge the table otherwise it goes off again! Just another of the many quirks in this cottage!<br />
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I think that my shoulder needs a little after sun, I think the slightly heavier breeze today made the sun less noticeable on my skin, but I can feel it now! And it's probably time to sleep soon, too, after I find out what happens to Delia in my book! Tomorrow we might even go for a walk!Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-967208909949808640.post-43389066831871041072012-07-08T16:09:00.000-07:002012-07-08T16:09:32.122-07:00Winners and more winnersIt's our first whole day on Camano, and we woke early to watch the Wimbledon Singles Final for the men. Roger Federer was after his 7th victory and Andy Murray was seeking the first British win for many decades. <br />
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It was excellent sport, we cheered for both men because they both played the game of their lives, but in the end only one gets to hold the trophy. <br />
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Andy Murray was tearful, sad to have disappointed those who have cheered him on for so long - but we could see only winners today, two great athletes who devote their time and energy into being the best they can be at what they do. If only there were more people in the world who held that devotion, that determination, that spirit, in themselves, just think what the world might look like. <br />
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Our own little world looks like we have not a single care, and it feels that way, too. I sat upstairs on the deck with my spinning for an hour this morning, working with some beautiful polwarth/silk fiber in delicious shades of purple and blue - look...<br />
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It will be yarn in a few days, how many days depends largely on how many naps I take! ;-) <br />
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After a quick shower in the teeny tiny bathroom we headed out to get a few groceries - we had brought the bread machine with us to bake fresh bread each day but forgot the yeast, and the cottage could use a conversation with some Clorox wipes, so we drove off island and went to Stanwood. We added french bread, pastrami, doughnuts, icecream, and various chocolate items to the needed purchases, and ate the bread and pastrami on the way home, driving through the tree-lined lanes in the quiet of the early afternoon.<br />
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The people are lovely - the lad stocking the freezers in the grocery store asked if we minded him pushing his cart in front of us, as we were browsing and he had places to be. And the lady I stepped backwards and got in the way of waved off my apology and was sorry for having rushed me! <br />
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Now we're having a little post-lunch quiet time, Caity is lost in a book, Becca is busy writing, and I'm here with you, catching you up on the day so far. The tide hit its lowest about 90 minutes ago, so we're going to go for our walk in a bit, planning to be back by six to ensure that we don't get stranded up a tree! Caitlin is making burgers for dinner, I've put the dough on for buns, and then we'll knit and read and chat until we're too tired to stay awake any more. Debhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13631233494488705235noreply@blogger.com0