A MESSAGE FOR ANDREA
Hello Andrea,
If you spot this message then I will send you some gorgeous sock wool.
Weeks ago when I last wrote on this blog I hinted that if anyone spotted whether or not I knitted a pair of socks by the end of September they would be due a nice surprise.
Well I failed spectacualy in my attempt to produce a pair of socks so now I am happy to send some wool to you Andrea so you can have the pleasure instead.
Look forward to hearing from you. xx
Autumn greetings everyone.
Apologies for neglecting to write for so long, life just got busy with, school, work, play, planning for a wedding and all the usual stuff.
Neither do I have much time to write now either but if anyone spotted the personal challenge I set for September then you might be interested to know that I am no where near finished and I have only got until Sunday but I will be at a wedding on Saturday so no chance then. So some lucky person might be knitting there own socks soon...hint hint ....
Anyway time to sleep wishing you all well.
x
If your weren't you, who or what would you like to be?
I have always fancied the idea of becoming a butterfly in my next life, true my life might be short but I would look gorgeous, have fabulous views and get to sip on nectar. Not a bad life!
But on the other hand I would miss children, friends, family, my honey, kisses, hugs, good conversations long into the night, laughing, swimming, reading, films, sewing, knitting, making things, learning new stuff, exploring, experimenting, imagining, creating and so much more.
This butterfly is to be seen flying around at the Botanical Gardens in Durham, a lovely place.
Hello again
We are back from our adventure and now I can't decide what to share with you first. Should it be tales of castles and sieges, or the spooky visit to an underground street hundreds of years old, images of flying the kite on the beach or a taste of the delicious food consumed? Decisions decisions.
Hi folks
I am going off on a little adventure for a few days. I will look forward to reading all your fabulous blogs when I get back.
Have a good week.
Bye xx
ZEST .....I feel full of this now I have completed the "Encyclopedia of Me Meme" as first proposed here on the Bella Dia blog.
It has been fun and it gave me something to focus on in my first foray into the world of blogging. I have enjoyed reading how other people interpreted the challenge too. Looking back over the month I realise maybe I strayed a bit from the original intention of the meme but hey I am still learning.
Would you believe that up until I started blogging in July I had hardly picked up a camera in my life. Now however I am addicted and it is so satisfying to see the results so instantly on the computer screen. Funny thing is it makes me more observant in everyday life, it has quite literally opened my eyes to the ordinary places and things around me or that I happen to encounter day by day, which cant be a bad thing.
Thank you to anyone who has stopped by and taken time to read my ramblings and a big thanks to all those who have made me welcome and sent comments.
Sweet dreams x
Have you ever seen a sight that is so amazing or so beautiful that it makes you speechless? Then you will know how I felt when I visited Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe/ Zambian border. It was named after Queen Victoria but I think I prefer the local name Mosi-oa-tunya which apparently when translated means 
" The Smoke that Thunders"
Image from Wikepedia but come round some day and I can bore you with dozens taken when we were there.
If you ever go to see this wonderful waterfall it will be easy to see why the name is more appropriate. The first thing you notice as you approach the site of it is a huge mist cloud that mushrooms up high over the tree tops. I t is more exciting in the rainy season because the volume of water is greater.
As you walk nearer you are suddenly aware that the dry arid surroundings are being replaced by a rain forest, lush and green and full of dark shadows. In this magical place the quality of the sound changes, the traffic and people noises of the small local town are left behind and suddenly you are aware of a deep and continuous rumbling sound. So the spray and the sound of the water thundering over the rocks inspired the local name.
Its only once you step through the trees that you get your first view of the magnificent falls. It is quite stunning...am I running out of superlatives yet?... The water tumbles over the edge of the gorge and cascades down hundreds of feet, millions of gallons a minute. The huge Zambezi River draining itself over the precipice of the rocks creates wonderful patterns and if you lean far enough over the edge on the opposite side of the gorge you will catch glimpses of rainbows.
It takes at least 30 minutes to walk along the path opposite with different vistas opening up at each new viewing point and little deviations into the rain forest. I swear that one time we were there a hippo peeped back at us through the trees unless it was some trick of the light.
When you reach the end of the path you will be soaked to your skin but gloriously uplifted.
It may be something to do with the slight chill in the air in the evenings now or it could be that this wool called out to be stroked and coaxed into a pair of socks. But whatever the reason without a backward look to the rest of "the stash" I bought this today!
It is beautiful and so soft 100% alpaca by artesano. Yummy colours too.
I am publicly challenging myself to make a pair socks by the end of September :
The last one might be the hardest for me because I am easily seduced by the lure of new yarn or fabric or a different pattern. This might not seem much of a challenge to prolific knitters but it is to me and besides I have never tried socks before. Wish me luck.
Hmmm now how can I put even more pressure on myself to do it? How about if I don't provide a photo to show the finished socks by the end of September I have to provide the first person to spot this a skein of the same wool as a forfeit? What do you think?
Have you ever done something so cringe worthy that you wanted to disappear into a puff of smoke. I can see you now squirming in your seat at the thought of it. I know its not fair of me to remind you is it? Well guess I have had a few such moments too in my life so I thought I could share one with you today because it fits nicely into Y.
A couple of years ago a friend gave me some vouchers as a thank you for having her wedding party in my garden...it was so much fun but thats another story. These could be exchanged for either holistic treatments or yoga classes at the local Buddhist centre. It is a wonderful space to do such activities, you step off the busy streets of the city into a serene and tranquil environment.
Yogi Bear!
I love yoga and have done it off and on over the years in lots of different locations, my friends back garden, sports halls, purpose built log cabins and outside under the palm trees in Goa with the wind rustling through the trees and the smell of the ocean filling my nostrils.
All was well for the first couple of weeks then one week there was a very familiar face lying across the room from me and I struggled to remember where we had met or where we knew each other from but I am a friendly sort of person so I resolved to say hello at the next possible moment.
I went next door to the lovely vegetarian cafe for lunch and found myself sitting on the same communal table as my acquaintance. So I waited for a lull in the conversation and launched into the whole "hello" I know we have met and know each other routine, but she said "no I don't know you and we have never met before". Should have left it at that but I persisted" no I recognise you but I am sorry I just cant remember your name or where we met." She fixed me with a withering stare and said "I am an actor" did I stop then ? No I compounded the whole thing by asking what she starred in. By this time the rest of the table were trying to stifle their giggles. Poor woman not only did I annoy her but insulted her by not knowing which character she played in one of the UK's very long running TV series, oops.
Have you got any embarrassing moments?
"For it was not in my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed but my soul" Attributed to Judy Garland
" The Kiss" by Constantin Brancusi 1876-1957 (image from-Wikepedia)
I first saw a copy of this sculpture in a Cemetery in Paris. I love wandering around flower filled crumbly old church yards.There are many hidden stories if you listen hard enough. The cemetery in Paris by contrast is very large,well organised and elaborate with guards or was it guardians on the gates?
It is the resting place of many famous writers, artists and musicians as well as more ordinary Parisians. Some graves stones were simple others were more ostentatious. Along side memorials which were well tended with fresh flowers and plants were those whose friends and relatives had obviously long gone too. Occasionally there was the amusing such as the memorial to the man who invented the gas lamp. He can be seen in a full size bed with his wife lying next to him, reading by gaslight.
The kiss can be found in a quiet corner tucked away, it is very poignant and eloquent in its simplicity. It made me sad because I lost someone very special to me last Christmas and a kiss goodbye and a bear hug was the last I saw of him.
