Life

Life is so precious but we really do not need to be precious about it. I say this not flippantly but sincerely. We have one life and I feel that we should enjoy it. We should laugh out loud, we should love and be loved unconditionally, we should eat and enjoy and never feel guilty, we should savour every precious moment, breathe deeply, smile broadly and live today well so that tomorrow you have no regrets.
I know so many people at the moment who are so ill and the courage of their loved ones is awesome. I have just spoken to one person and emailed another who are both affected by cancer. My life at the moment is filled with both young and old who have found me to talk and for that I am blessed. It makes me value my life and makes me realise that I need to love and live my life. I have been coasting for years and now I need to step it up a gear and live.
I admire and respect all those who are suffering and who through all their adversity can still smile and laugh and live.
So to you I say 'thank you 'and I hope that my door will always be open for any and all who need to come and find me. I am here.

Flu

The last few weeks have been difficult. My sister in law died suddenly of an asthma attack. This was difficult for my partner and also my son who as an asthmatic took it very hard. Death in itself is stressful and difficult to deal with but the aftermath of funeral arrangements, paperwork etc seem to overshadow the grieving and this cannot often happen until after all the practicalities have been concluded. the grief is different for every individual and dealing with the various needs takes a lot out of you.
It is no wonder that I have flu at the moment. The baby has flu also and is being sick all the time. so we are not having a good time and I have not had the energy to sew or even think.
This sounds like such a moan, but it is really how I am feeling today. I decided not to get up and just to be, something that I have not done in a long time. I just feel that my body needs the rest something that I am not good at doing, taking time out.
Well my daughter has bought a camera and as soon as she figures out how to use it I will post some very much needed photos.

Swapping good fun

Well I have been playing around with patterns for my swap doll and really not liking the result when I had a lightening moment in my menopausal fugg. Photocopier! yes a simple little gadget that copies and enlarges and REDUCES. It had not occured to me that I could reduce one of my existing patterns and thus making it smaller.
Well when I came out of my daze I took the pattern along and lo and behold a miniature of my long legged ladies.
I have a lovely swap partner, kim and I and honoured that I can be making a doll for her. I admire her outlook on life and her strength.
I cannot wait to get started and hope that she will like the finished result.

More Links

I have added a few more links in my sidebar as I thought that if I could not give you pictures I would give you a sneak peek into the things that I like. I visit these blogs every now and again and revel in the creativity of these talented artists. I will continue to add blogs so that you can see that I have a very varied,eclectic taste.
I love all kinds of art and craft and wish that I could draw so that I could put down on paper all the pictures that are in my head. One of my favourite artists is Sam Toft, her art is fun. One day I would like to be in a position to be able to afford a piece of hers. http://www.samtoft.co.uk/. I love the humour in her pieces and the story in the picture.
There are stories everywhere, today I heard three stories all were sad but within them there was an element of hope. The hope made the stories gentle despite the fact that the stories themselves were hard. Hope floats!

SNOW

Yes folks it's official ' Snow' in April!!! We woke up this morning to the sight of huge snow flakes. The ground was covered in minutes and it looked beautiful. I was taken back to my childhood Christmases when we all hoped that it would snow for Christmas day. December not April!!!
I am happy to say that the sun has come out and hopefully it will all have melted away by the time that I have to go to work tomorrow. I know, I know, I am a killjoy, but I really despise snow when the pristine whiteness has disappeared and it becomes grey sludge and icy.
I am now going hopefully to start a small doll, 6 inches to be precise. I decided to take part in a doll swap, I have never made miniature dolls before and am finding it all quite a challenge. the body being the hardest. I had never entered a swap before and thought that it might be fun. So here goes I will bring photos when it is completed and my swap partner has received it. I am not sure who that will be as yet.
I cannot upload the banner as yet either as I do not know how, any help would be greatly appreciated.

4.30am

Yes it really is 4.30 am and I am awake. I have been having trouble sleeping recently. I am suffering from hot flushes that keep me awake. The knock on effect is that I am so very tired the next day. As a result I find that life is passing me by. Because I am so tired I do not have the energy to do anything. I am writing because half of the house is away and so there is no one to disturb. The silence is not silent at all and it is surprising what you can hear at this time of the morning. I am so impatient at times even though I know that with patience comes a true reward. I am impatient to go to sleep, so the more I try the worse it gets!
until the daylight! Night Night.

Easter

Easter and winter have arived here. Instead of spring we have arctic conditions and they are to get worse. I have 4 days off work and am enjoying my first day being lazy. It really is blissful. I have decided not to feel guilty about my inertia and just take the day as it comes. I have started to feel like working on dolls again. I have a special collaborative project that I am working on at the moment and I am so looking forward to showing you the end result. Patience is a virtue!!
Happy Easter to everyone.