Happy Valentines Day

Wishing all my readers have a lovely day today.
I haven't been able to get good indoor photos just lately
but as soon as I can I will post one of my
finished blanket
YES!!!!!
I actually finished my blanket!!
But just to keep you going I thought a couple of lovely
Vintage Valentine images would be appropriate
Have a lovely day everyone.


With love and blessings in Christ
Elaine
xxxx

How Cool !

More lovely, glorious snow!!!!!!!
I love it.
I've been out (proper) for the first time today (a health thing) and the weather was perfect.
Crisp air, but not too cold, so Claudia and me went to do a bit of shopping, and I actually remembered the camera!

First stop (after the charity shops) was the supermarket, where this jolly fellow greeted us.
Then a walk home through the local park.
What struck us was the cheerfulness of everybody. It seems the weather has brought out the best in people. And there was a definite air of community spirit, a oneness with each other, and I say "Thank God for it."


with love and blessings in Christ,
Elaine
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There's snow place like Gnome

(Sorry, I just couldn't resist that title.)
Our garden looks quite nice today. There's still plenty of stuff lying around that shouldn't be, but under this lovely thick white blanket it's hard to tell the buckets from the planters LOL

This photo was taken around 3.30pm. My foot print is about 3"-4" deep,
but there is another couple of inches compacted below too.
Poppy the dog loves it too, but the photo of her is too blurry to use,
not quite sure if she was moving too fast or I was shivering too much.

I love the look of the shrubs too
(hope my neighbour doesn't mind her house being on show oooppss),

but not the look of the fence after a car crashed through it.
Still, I suppose these things happen, and this certainly did!
........................................

On another note, my blanket is coming along nicely. I've started joining the squares.
Not a job I love but it has to be done.
After I've joined 81, I shall decide exactly how I want it to look,
whether I need more squares, how to edge it, etc. But so far I'm quite pleased with it.
........................................


Thank you to my lovely, beautiful friend Angel for another award.
Bless her, not only is she helping to raise lots of much needed money for a children's project in Nakuru, Kenya
(Kids in Need is about building a home for orphaned children who's lives were devastated in the awful troubles there last year).
not only that, but she has taken it upon herself to keep the manufacturers of certain ladies product in business during the recession.
How good is that!!!!!!!!
Actually, on that subject, I must say thank you to Debbie at Shabby Chic Cafe for making the KiN project the charity of the year.
If anyone would like to know more, please pop along to the Cafe
or leave a comment on Shabby Angel's blog.

With love and blessings in Christ Elaine xxxxxxxxxxxxx

I'm so honoured

I truly am honoured by the lovely award given to me by the lovely Mary Poppins.
Taken from Mary's blog this is what the award is all about

"The authors say that blogs who receive this award are exceedingly charming. This blog invests in proximity in space, time and relationships. These kind bloggers aim to find and be new friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandisement. Our hope is that when ribbons of these awards are cut, even more friendships will be propagated. Please give your kind attention to these writers."

And these words make this a very special award, thank you for thinking of me Mary.

And now I have to think of 8 other bloggers to pass this award on to.

Raspberry Grace

Shabby Angel

Biker Boots and Chicken Feet

DollyDollop

Anglesey Allsorts

Lace Hearts

Dancing on a Blade of Grass

What Kelly did next

So there you go my lovely friends, you are all so deserving of this award, and there are many more people that deserve this award too, so please pass this on to another 8 bloggers and include the text above too.

Love and blessings in Christ
Elaine
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Pink and Green and Cream

Is January the month to get sorted do you think???
I decided to use up some old yarn but how come everytime I decide to use what I already have
I then end up buying more to go with it??
I thought it would be good to crochet a new sofa blanket to match the new decor, so I set about sorting some yarn but do I have enough in the right colours for a whole blanket ??? Do I eck as like!
Thankfully I'm not fussy about the type of yarn so I set about using what I had, all the bits of pink and green and cream but some greens and pinks just aren't the right shades. It can't be to vivid, no racing green for this blanket, so off to the local wool shop I go. They had a bin full of lovely oddments at £1 a ball and I found another ball of each colour I need,
and so far I have managed to complete 22 squares.

I'm not sure how many I will eventually do, I'm thinking 100, but I don't want to get bored, and I want it finished much sooner than I usually do, so maybe 49 might be more achievable LOL.


I have also started another random blanket like this one but again I don't want it to take as long as the last one (over 20 years *blush*) I've made quite a good start (last year) but this week I've doubled the size and at least this blanket will genuinely use every little scrap of any double knit I have. My Mam has got her knitting head on at the moment too, so I shall be after her little scraps too.

Anyway, I'm off to do some more sorting out so I can actually open the cubby hole door and who knows what yarn I'll find lurking in the back of there !!

Love and blessings in Christ
Elaine
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Time to Sew.... and stuff

Oh dear oh dear. I've allowed myself to become very lazy this last month *blush*

The sewing has been at a complete stand still for 3 weeks now, and even the pictures I printed for our 2009 calendars are still sitting on top of the printer waiting to be cut out.
And I'm blaming the weather LOL.

It's perfect weather for curling up on the sofa
and letting the world (and time) pass by.

So, today I really must make a January "to do" list that
is sensible and achievable.
I need to do a little shopping,
and take a New Baby card to my Goddaughter.
Then try to tackle some of my "to do" list.

Here's hoping (eeekkkkkkk!!!!!)

Love and blessings in Christ

Elaine xxxxxxxxxxx


ps. This picture is how I'd like to think I look, but unfortunately I don't !!!
though the top pic is pretty close to how I looked
40-odd years ago !

I must be honest and say I'm not usually one to revel in a New Year-New Start type of thing. Usually I'm pretty laid back about what has happened through the year and I don't expect things to be much different as the old year passes.
But I am glad to see the back of last year. Don't get me wrong, there was much good in it, but so much stress that it knocked me for 6.
But, I know God would not give me more than I could handle, so even though the rough patches carried on right upto Christmas, I made it through the year, hanging on to the rim of it by my battered nails LOL.

The doggy, Poppy, was back at the vets today to have her stitches removed from the operation she had on the 22nd of December, and has been given as clean a bill of health as any 14 year old dog could have.
Having lost our beloved Dizzy (cat) back in November the thought of losing Poppy too was too much to even think of.
But she's so bouncy for her age, and constantly thinking of her next meal, or the snacks in between, you would never think that on the 20th December we had to seriously consider not having her around for Christmas.

And so, we start the New Year with 2 very large vet bills to pay, (Thank God we have very understanding vets) but having my beautiful Poppy is worth it all.

My prayer for you all is that you have a wonderfully peace-filled, joy-filled, love-filled 2009, and that you all will have the happiest year, yet have the strength to cope with whatever it throws at you too.

Love and Blessings
Elaine
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