Sunday Sunday - so good to me

Sunday - you were great to spend time with.

You wore a lingering scent of spring.

The streams were full and burbling 

sounding like laughter

You were wearing your loveliest smile,

sharing your happiness with us. 

 Sunday, I really loved spending time with you :)

Sunday - you showed me that

 I must always find time for things 

that make me feel happy to be alive

thank you x

Tree - before - the alternative advent 15

Last Sunday, just before the snow, Himself went out into the garden to collect Treebeard..

Yes, our chrimbly tree has a name and like everything in our lives, 

a story too.

A few years ago our artificial tree (purchased over a decade ago) finally stopped looking good and was needing more than the usual primping and tending to make it look acceptable.  I had been hankering after a real tree for a while but had been put off by the price and the inner-frugal-me kept saying that the artificial tree would last another year, would last another year, would last another year, when one evening Eldest and I went to our local supermarket. Outside in the cold and wrapped up tightly was a crate of trees. I stopped and looked at them - they were both affordable and some were even marked down.  I hesitated, so Eldest went over and investigated. So I followed - as you do....

Well,to shorten a longish and not very riveting story, we brought one home and in keeping with our ethos, it was the smallest, wonkiest and rather misshapen tree with branches missing - coz we both saw it needed a home and love.

Now, several years later, with the help of judicial pruning, garden twine to train branches, Treebeard is beautiful and he graces our home with his presence and pervades our nostrils with his delicious scent during December while he wears his festive finery with such grace and gravitas.

Then, once he has done his festive duty, he is released back into the garden to frolic with the other trees that also reside there. He soon takes up his outside responsibilities - to act as a decoy for the cats, to catch cherry blossom in spring,bird feathers in early summer and leaves in autumn.

He is a happy tree and we love him :)

What's a witch's favourite lesson at school?

Spelling of course!

What a witchy day it has been, filled with laughter and silly hats. 

Where trick and treaters flooded our village in a mishmash of zombies and nurses, 

St Trinians and cute cats, masked monsters and sparkly witches.

 Our home was invaded by two special witches, 

... they immediately started casting spells with their pretty patterns

 and halloween imagery,

 it was magical!

Youngest and Himself soon joined in with our witchy coven of laughter and feasting,

all the while being surrounded by lights, pumpkins, candles and bats. 

Now, all witches flown home, food all eaten,

candles finished - we sit quietly,
having had a wonderful day
and special evening.

Thank you my dear sweet witches
for bringing such magic to today :)

View over my morning coffee

This morning, I woke up to this ...

Will share details soon, promise :) 

More Scavenger-photo hunt posts still coming in - will do round up, I have seen some gorgeous photos, thank you my lovelies for joining in and sharing your wonderful pictures!

A dozen eggs (12) - and another festive Ta-Da!

Thank you for your lovely comments- they make my heart go squeeeee:)

Just up the lane from where we live, is this sign. Offering up eggs at £2.00 a dozen. Our village has a lot of back-garden hens and as spring slips into summer, hens get busy and the cockerels get louder and earlier...... sometimes we get woken at 4am by their cheerfully raucous crowing. *nice*

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I was let free at work with the window artwork pens a couple of days ago and I decided against the usual designs of cute dogs and cats, with parcels beneath the tree......I chose stags in the snow, owls in huge conifers beneath the moon and the stars.

One of the staff members tentatively requested firstly a squirrel 

then she whispered... could she have a grizzly bear......?

What better time than at chrimbly time to grant wishes!

And of course I had have my favourite magical creature...

Suddenly a hare appeared dreaming mysterious dreams

while an owl watched from the tree.

I still had a little time left before the end of my working day

I still had drawing in my fingers

I drew myself a vixen

catching snowflakes with her tongue.

I went home very happy :)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Bats in my Belfry....

In anticipation of our family Samhain get together, Eldest and I went

....we errr, 

we went a little 

'Batty'......

First there was just one fluttering on the wall,

then a few,

suddenly they were swarming across the wall. 

They swirled and twirled around the lights and the plants. 

They flapped across the wall to the window... 

Where they were juggled by huge scary hands!

Our feast was ready, the soup was piping hot,

the table set -

it was all systems go!

Then later, when it was dark, the lights were on and 

Youngest's pumpkins twinkling outside the window,

we were visited by lots and lots of little scary folk.

The politest and sweetest and cutest little scary folk,

carefully watched by parents 

as they said..

'trikatreeeeet!'

I love it :)

How was your Samhain/Halloween' All Hallow's Eve?

I hope as good fun as ours xxx

Knitting vs the world in random bite sized pieces

In between studying, working, life and well....everything else that happens.... 

I am trying to knit - to stay sane! 

The change in the clocks has really messed me around. 

I hate the sudden darkness in the evenings when I leave work.

I feel - very very tired. 

 Gah.

Brain feels like mushed up cardboard at the moment 

and I need it to be super absorbent and super sharp. 

Not a chance, think will go back to knitting. 

I came across 'Star Wolf and Rabbit Girl' and instantly fell in love - strange and otherworldly however, the images by Chiara Bautista hit a chord and in particular - this one...........

When you knit something for some one you love - it comes from the heart.

Things will improve - I know they will,

I am an eternal optimist.

The book I am knitting from.

A mixture of art and artistry.

Maths and logical thinking.

Difficult for me to make

my butterfly mind 

fly in straight lines.

But, my hat grows :)

May be if I study 

solidly for one more hour

I can treat myself

with a row or two.

shhhhh - better get back to work.

xxxxxxx

Super moon

As the alarm went off, we sat bolt upright. Although still night the sharp light pouring in through the curtains was a pure icy brilliance. I could barely focus my eyes but knew it was 2.15am. Himself got dressed while I just piled on layers of warm things straight  over my pjs.

Rubbing my eyes and stumbling downstairs after Himself, we went out side to witness the supermoon lunar eclipse.

We quickly returned inside, me to switch the kettle on and to wrap on another layer and Himself to wake the boys. They soon rattled downstairs fully dressed and fully awake.

I have to confess to feeling a little light-headed due to a rather obnoxious cold, so while the boys were rather animated and discussed the reasons why the moon was red, light waves and absorption of the colour spectrum and the chatted about it's corona and whether a star was a star or whether it was a planet ...(just too much for me at 2.30 in the morning) I sipped my tea and in the dark, quietly leant my head against the kitchen wall.

The skies grew darker and the stars appeared more visible as the moon became more and more covered by the earth's shadow. Then suddenly the colour changed from an icy white to a rather muddy red with a brilliant slash of light at the base. It was a strange time - no sound from the village, no aeroplanes leaving contrails in the skies, no cars, nothing... just us and the transforming moon.  

Eldest took a few photos as did I but we both found that our cameras could not capture clearly what we were witnessing. Youngest had his tablet with him and was communicating with various friends around the countryside watching the moon too - that felt odd - a bizarre mix of ancient celestial dance and modern teenager tinterweb-pontification.

Finally when the moon had become fully red and the light slash has moved around to the left side, I had to admit defeat and go back to bed. My head was pounding and my sniffly nose was.....well.... very sniffly! Reluctantly the others wandered in after me. I must have fallen asleep with in seconds.....

As the alarm went off,  we struggled to sit upright. Although the morning, the light seeping in through the curtains was a grey early morning feeble glow. I could barely focus my eyes but knew it was 6.15am. Himself got dressed while I just wished I could stay in bed....

There be faeries in these hills

Faerie Glen

A deep and narrow

magical place

Where weather stunted trees shoal on hill edges

And a ribbon of tar lumps and bumps over the land

through the disrupted landslides

A stony pinnacle called Castle Ewan towers over 

a dark lochan

Where we sheltered against a sharp shower

which had sent most visitors scurrying away

Castle Ewan called to be scaled,

Himself and Youngest soon succumbed

The rest of us less airy folk

chose to stay on the lower conical hills

There is an air of strangeness

a feeling of otherworldly

of faerie magic

circles

spirals

offerings

It was worth braving the shower

it was worth wrapping up against the bitter cutting breeze

Follow this link for more photos 

(you will need to scroll down a little)

 of this strange and intriguing little place.

Thank you for coming along with us :)