The year of the horse.

Dear Readers, good morning and I hope all is well with you.

What a wonderful sound of birds chattering in the hedgerows this morning, an absolute delight, and to watch them flit from hedge to tree and back again, some have even started to collect twigs in readiness for nest building, a really cheerful greeting to the day.  

I spent all yesterday designing, cutting out, re-cutting out and sewing a pennant banner for my granddaughter (in the absence of pattern for dress) and am really pleased with the result, this being my first article other than playing around on the sewing machine.  I was trying to decide what implement to use to define the tips of the pennants, and found another good use for knitting needles.  Next is the foray for appropriate letters to attach to each pennant and to decorate the top with colourful shapes, one of each colour and shape, not sure whether to get these in wood of appliqué, we'll see what I come up with, any ideas welcomed. Quilters club on Saturday and we have the Doughty's road-show, a mesmerising amount of materials, buttons, fasteners of all types and patterns, maybe I will strike lucky there.  

Friday sees the start of the Chinese New Year, the year of the horse and the end of my year, the year of the snake.  The Chinese Lunar New Year is the longest chronological record in history, dating from 2600BC, when the Emperor Huang Ti introduced the first cycle of the zodiac. Like the Western calendar, The Chinese Lunar Calendar is a yearly one, with the start of the lunar year being based on the cycles of the moon. Therefore, because of this cyclical dating, the beginning of the year can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February. This year it falls on January 31st. A complete cycle takes 60 years and is made up of five cycles of 12 years each.  The Chinese Lunar Calendar names each of the twelve years after an animal. Legend has it that the Lord Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed from earth. Only twelve came to bid him farewell and as a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived. The Chinese believe the animal ruling the year in which a person is born has a profound influence on personality, saying: "This is the animal that hides in your heart."

Those born within these years are recognised as energetic, bright and intelligent. This kind of person is sometimes referred to a "Qianli Ma" - a horse that covers a thousand li a day (one li is equivalent to 500 metres).  It is believed those born in the year of the horse have excellent communication skills and enjoy being in the limelight.  In general, it is suggested that they are cheerful, popular, talented and enjoy entertaining. They are associated with success and cannot stand failure.

Thank you once again for joining me and reading my ramblings, I look forward to being with you again tomorrow.  Have a lovely day today wherever you are.

Siwzy

What is a Horse? by Lily Whitaker

What is a horse? 

A horse has eyes as dainty as a mink.

The grace is interrupted merely by a blink.

A horse is beauty.

What is a horse? 

A horse is a tree in a storm that never goes down.

A horse is a weathered rock that stays around.

A horse is ancient.

What is a horse? 

A horse waltzes like breeze over rivers.

She curvets and leaps like rain shivers. 

A horse is a marionette. 

What is a horse? 

A horse is determination, that never stops flowing.

A horse is fondness, that never stops growing.

A horse is poetic power.