A Little Bit Of Sunshine...

Hi There,
I hope you had a good weekend. Mine went in a bit of a blur!! Don't they always!
However, despite the freezing cold temperatures we endured, the ice and frost, and the
pale greyish sky, I had my own little bit of sunshine delivered to me on Saturday, in the form of a parcel from my best friend, Bonnie.
I must admit I had been really down in the dumps the last few days, and she always times these friendship parcels just so perfectly, and I feel thoroughly warmed and cheered!

Every year we celebrate our Friendship anniversary, based on when we first sent correspondence to each other, all those 13 years ago, in October 1997.
We still write but instead of wacky, pretty, colourful stationery paper we now write in notebooks, they are literally like novels!!
We also both have had the privilege of meeting each other, which I'm sure I've mentioned before. I went to visit Bonnie in South Africa in 2006, and Bonnie came to visit me in 2008.
She more than a pen-friend, she's my best friend.
I really love the things she sent me, most of it was all handmade by herself, and that makes it all the more special and personal.
I wish I'd thought of taking photo's as I unwrapped it as everything was wrapped up so cute!
But here is all is laid out on my table

 click on the pix to see them bigger!

I really do just love every little thing, love the little mobile phone holder at the front there, that fits my phones perfectly! and so many embellishments, tags, crocheted flowers, paper flowers, felt flower, a little notebook, a adorable little blackbird, my favorite rooiboos skincare products...the only thing Rooiboos or Red Bush we have here is Tea, but these skincare products are just fabulous! Bon had sent me shower gel and body moisturiser before and I just loved it so much, so I can't wait to use these bits.

Here's some up close pics of the mobile phone holder, crocheted flowers, and other embellies that I just loved the colours of.

Lurrrrrve the vintagey buttons, peals, gems, stamps, mini cards and the cute little crocheted pebble warmer!! My little son had really taken a shine to this, especially since my eldest son put a wibbly-wobbly eye on it, he carried it all the way to school today, and despite my putting it back on display as soon as he puts it down, he soon gets it back again, its currently 'sleeping' in his jeans pocket at present!!
So Thank you so much my dear friend for such generosity, and for your loyal, supportive, stead-fast friendship.

As you know also, I have been taking part in Bonnie's flower class, and the lesson I wanted to learn the most - the crocheted flower - has certainly proved to be the most challenging lesson! I almost gave up...but then I realised that perhaps I wasn't in the best of moods and frame of mind to be taking on something new, and pretty much sulked with my knitting all last week...until disaster struck!!
Thursday evening, I came to the end of my ball of wool, so the next day, I trudged to my local craft shop, and horror of horrors, the wool had been discontinued!!! Is that really difficult to match colour -I call it a dusky duck egg blue, they call it soft teal.
So, I moodily plunged through the bargain bin to look for something to take home!! and I came across so cotton yarn, such a lovely ice blue, and another one in a soft lime-ish green.

There was a sales 'advisor' there, who gave me the impression that I was out of my depth!!
She said that all double knit wool/yarn is the same thickness and that's regardless of what it's made from. Well, missy, you're wrong!! As when I tried the crocheted flower again, with my double knit cotton yarn, it FELT finer and it IS finer!!
I have made lovely little flowers!! Because I FINALLY got it!! it just twigged!
My first one I admit went a little wrong but I know why, but I actually rather like it, I'm calling it a 'snow flake' !!

Then I tried a few more, using this yarn and the yarn Bonnie sent me and here are my fabby, chuffed-to-bits-with-myself crocheted flowers

My favourite is the one on the bottom left, I added a little pearl Bon had sent too.
Then I just got the bug, and sat all evening, making these addictive little flowers, here's some more

So, then, I got a little adventurous and tried a double petalled one, it did go a little wrong, so I simply sewed the inner petals to be closer together, and then I tried and lacy, wavy one, by having a 'shell' of stitches on every stitch, and I thought that was ok. Not brilliant, but ok!!!

                                              wavy one on the left, double petalled on the right

                                                         And here they all are together

So today, I popped back to the craft shop, and got some more bargain bin yarns, including 'bamboo' wool and 'soya' yarn!! All in such soft pretty colours.
I do love the wool section! I love seeing all the colours, but its just so expensive!
I try to get the half price stuff! Oh and yesterday, on EBay, I found my discontinued wool!!! So I will be able to finish my knitting project soon!! yay!! I do love EBay sometimes!!

Talking of fab websites, if you haven't already pleeeeeease do pop over to Bonnie's new beautiful website, where you can get you're own goodies like mine!!

Click on the button here to go visit her brand new website

Well, I hope you all have a good week. I must say I'm quite glad the snow has virtually gone from our area now, and that the kids are back to school!!

Although it is still literally freezing. Last night it was -3, and all day today its been 0!

I am were thick woollen tights, thick boot socks, jeans, and two jumper dresses (yes I look ridiculous!) and I'm still cold!

Time to get cozy in front of the wood stove, cuddled up in my blanket and absorb myself in some crocheting! (and Shrek 4!!)

Take Care Xx

More Snow!

Hi there!
I don't think I've ever blogged so much within a week, but its snowing!
We went for a nice walk yesterday. I had so many layers on that I was actually boiling! On the was home, the boys were complaining of cold feet, so we carried them. Hubby picked up the little one as he gave up first, then my 6 year old started complaining, so I gave him a piggy-back home, so I was roasting when I got home!!
Anyway, I thought I'd share a couple of photo's I took yesterday whilst on a trudge through the snow in the village

the big abondoned house up the street

Last night we had a power cut, which was exciting, until I realised I still had dinner cooking in the oven!

We have an electric oven, so then I had the idea of cooking it on the woodstove in the living room...today our living room stinks of dinner! But it worked and we were all fed!

We played games, I knitted (still) and it was fun...until the lights came back on about 2 hours later, we all made a strange sound of 'Yeeeeyyyyyyyohhhhwa' a mix of being glad the electricity was on and disappointment that we no longer needed to be in candlelight! So we turned off the lights and kept the candles on!!

The snow is still here Today, but I don't think any more has fallen much since last night, although we have been forecast more snow is to come.
I just don't want it to rain...because it will just freeze and everything will turn to ice and it will be just so dangerous to drive.
I do have to venture out in the car today. I have to get groceries (and more wool! haha!) and my nearest supermarket is 4 miles away (not walking distance with two kiddies and a trolley full of groceries!)
I hope my car starts as it hasn't been driven in 3 and half days. its a "4x4" so I shouldn't be slidding about too much.
Anyway, have a good weekend
take care

Snow Days

HI there all,

Well, it is fffffffffrrrrreeeeeeeeeezzing here. We have such a nasty artic wind and a thick blanket of snow outside. We've opted to be 'snowed in'!! We haven't been out for a day and a half now!  Except Hubby who still went out to work, bless him.

But I took the boys to school yesterday, braving the ice and snow, crawling along in my car, heater full on, wrapped in so many layers I could just about turn the steering wheel! only to be told to take the kids home as the school was closing...didn't tell me that when I phoned an hour earlier to ask if they were still open!

So I crawled along to the shop, bought some essentials and came home again. Took me 20 mins to drive our usual 8 mins drive home!!
Snow is such a novelty here!  my sister lives 'up north' near the peak district, and at its shallowest point up there its knee depth! where as here in the south-east, its ankle deep.
It does amuse me how the schools all shut down, and everything comes to almost a standstill!
I suppose its because we are just unprepared for it. We don't have snow tyres and enough grit and salt for the roads and paths. the local governments won't buy stuff that's only needed for a few days a year! its not like it lasts the whole season! So..we all stop, huddle up and get cosy!!

So, yesterday,when we got home we had a little play in the snow...

My son making the first footprints in the garden!

Look! Snow!

Shortly after this we went in, needing a nice warm drink, so I prepared the supplies I had bought...

And made real Hot chocolate (double cream, a bar & half of chocolate, squirty cream, mini marshmellows (my little one called them 'mashmoes' cute!) and about 10,000 calories, but oh my, it was pure heaven in a mug!

and so after this pix, I sipped and knitted and we watched Disney dvd's!!

Last time I watched so much TV as that, I was newly married and we got the box set of the new series '24'and we sat and watched the whole thing...actually lasted 17-18 hours not 24! but we did it!! 

Not that we watched 17 hours of Disney dvd's but we watched 'Beauty & the Beast', 'race to Witch Mountain'and 'How to train your dragon'!!

I knitted the whole time and I was astounded at how much I did!!

I did hope to do some more crocheting, but my pc is in the draughty area in our house, and i need to rewatch the tutorial again and I just couldn't bare to get cold again and leave the hot, cosiness of the living room, with the fire blazing in the stove. Can you blame me?!!

This morning, I thought there would only be a little scattering of it left, but was surprised to see a blanket of fresh snow over the footprints we made yesterday...

So, we've stayed in again. This time though I got off my butt and did some housework! and started working  those 10,000 delicious calories off!!

So nothing really to show creative wise,although I do think that the Hot Chocolate was a work of Art!! haha! What have you been up to?