Jo Jingles

Hi Everyone, I hope you are all well and had a lovely weekend.

We departed from Wales on Sunday morning for a glorious week in Devon  looking after our GG.  Today I attended my first Jo Jingles Music Workshop with GG, she goes every week, either with Mummy and Daddy or Nanny, so my turn this week, and a wonderful time was had.  So often is music neglected in the early formative years, apart from the odd sing song a toddlers or playgroup, so a workshop dedicated to Music and Movement is a really good idea.  What the rest of the week holds is anybodies guess, the beach, the moors, meeting up with old friends, only time will tell, however one thing is for certain we shall enjoy every minute with GG, , but nd have a rest as well? well maybe not, but enjoy ourselves we will.

Thank you once again for joining me, and have a wonderful day wherever in the world you are.

Speak to you later in the week.

Love Bubbles

I'm forever blowing bubbles.

Hi everyone, I hope I find you all well.

As anyone who knows me is aware, poetry is one of my loves, another is bubbles, I just love blowing bubbles, my family get bubbles in their Christmas stockings, and my daughter gets me bubbles as well.  Yesterday my GG had to have some hospital tests and whilst waiting for the nurse, sat on her Dad's knee watching Show Me Show Me Bubbles courtesy of YouTube on his phone.  Instantly I was transported outside along with my bubble blower, blowing bubbles, will I, should I grow up?  I think not.  I was reminded of a quote form Carl Sandburg, combining my love of poetry and bubbles and of course rainbows, another love.  

Two bubbles found they had rainbows on their curves. 

They flickered out saying: 

"It was worth being a bubble, just to have held that rainbow thirty seconds.  (Carl Sandburg.)

Next week I hope to have a whole heap of fun, looking after GG with DB and of course the dog and cat. DD and SiL are busy at work so we get the opportunity to enjoy and indulge ourselves, what joy, can't wait, neither can DB or Stuffy, who is halfway out of the door!  On  a less happy note NOS is off to Malta for three weeks, so will miss him being around.  My cardigan is stalled, the wool has not arrived yet and may not be here before we leave for Devon, so I shall have to stock up on other projects to take with me for the few minutes I do have to knit, Nativity set may well get started along with a little elephant for GG.

Soap Bubble Dreams (Anula Aboobacker)

As tiny globes they float, Wearing a rainbow coat, Filled with young breath they glow, The soap bubble dreams we blow. Pop! They burst with stranger’s touch, In the windless sky, away from our clutch. ...Life is rife with lies we tweak, A hideout from our miseries! Flightless wings and wailing dreams, Are a kick back to reality! Speak to you next week, and I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend wherever in the world you are. Love Bubbles

Back again

Hi everyone and I hope I find you all well.

Apologies for my prolonged absence, but life has been somewhat more pressing over the last few months, so my blogs have been a little more sporadic that they should be.  Even my journal suffered, I have a lot of catching up to do.  My knitting continue apace, as does my sewing.  My latest offering from the sewing machine is Stuffy, as seen on Show Me Show Me (CBeebies), He is a stuffed cube with a pocket on the rear panel for hiding little surprises, also I knitted a Humpty Dumpty for my gorgeous granddaughter (GG) which I gave her at Easter along with a family of ducks.  Stuffy is travelling down to Devon with me later this week when I go to help look after GG. 

Humpty Dumpty and the Duck family

Stuffy

My other big news concerns my dearly beloved (DB), who after a year of hospital appointments and radiotherapy has been told that the cancer has responded to the treatment and all seems to be well at present, he has been beset by poor health since he contracted rheumatic fever as a toddler, and suffered consequent heart problems, resulting in heat valve replacement in '96 which failed and consequent heart transplant in '98, cancer was something of a body blow to say the least, but we are now back on the road to recovery, again.

So here I am sitting at my laptop, counting my blessings, and watching the changing world go by, am consumed by the daily changes in the trees that surround our little cul de sac, especially the weeping willows, and was moved to discover the following poem from the film My Girl

Weeping willow with your tears running down, 

why do you always weep and frown? 

is it because he left you one day? 

is it because he couldnt not stay? 

on your branches he would swing, 

do you love the happiness that he would bring? 

he found shelter in your shade, 

we thought his laughter would never fade! 

Weeping willow stop your tears, 

there is something to calm your fears, 

you think death as you do forever part, 

I know he will always be in your heart! 

Emma Jane Rae

Blueberries in bud

Hi everyone, hope I find you all well.

Although the weather has been unusually wet in the UK, it has also been unusually mild, spring flowers are beginning to appear out of the ground, my blueberry bush has leaf buds on already and my fuschia's have not stopped flowering, albeit only one or two flowers at a time on each, but flowers nevertheless.  Today it is gloriously sunny, if a little cool, definitely windy so ideal for the washing to get out onto the line, an unusual sight this winter.  Could it be that spring is round the corner, or are we in for a cold blast later this month, we shall see.

Hurrah, my patterns have arrived, all I need now is some measurements from my daughter to ensure I make the dress the right size for my granddaughter, this afternoon I intend to study each pattern carefully, read the instructions and see exactly what is required before I start cutting the pattern out, it is a long time since I used a pattern, so I don't want to mess this up just as I start.  Wish me luck.  

I spoke to the butchery counter at my supermarket on Friday and asked if I can bring in plastic boxes for meat, rather than use bags, he was most happy as was my local butcher, of course it saves them money as well as me plastic, so can't be a bad thing. 

Once again as always, thank you for joining me, I look forward to joining you again tomorrow, have a lovely day wherever in the world you are.

Siwzy

The Spring Awakening (Lucie Pierce)

Just listen to the voice of Spring, 

To each musical sound it brings, 

When the old winter has gone, 

You know a new life has come.

When the wind chimes in the sun, 

A whole new world has begun, 

Our feathered friends are flying high, 

Gracefully through the sky.

The little elm-leaves show, 

And the dogwood blossoms blow, 

The daffodils are coming out, 

Bright yellow and all about.

Finally Spring is here, 

And all the birds start to cheer, 

The flowers are nice and bright, 

Which brings us true delight.

Now the day has come to an end, 

We must thank the world again, 

Squirrels nesting

Hello everyone, I hope I find you all well and rested after the weekend.

Our's was once again a quiet weekend, interspersed with the delights of granddaughters latest antics, this weekend found her exploring the depths of her mothers wardrobe, presumably hunting for the lion and the witch, and scaling whatever heights her little body could reach, and if it seemed unattainable showing that this was not the case by manoeuvring things to help her!

This morning I saw a squirrel busy collecting grass from around the apple tree and twigs from the ground, then coming back for more.  I assume this was to line it's nest in the dray, but is a sight I have never seen before, plenty of birds collecting nesting material over the years, but never squirrel's, another first to add to my ever increasing list.

Last week I picked up a magazine from the supermarket "Sew Home and Style" which had a voucher code for Simplicity New Look patterns giving 50% off until 14th February, and as the pattern I had decided on was by Simplicity, I ordered this and a second pattern online using the voucher and saved myself 50%.  Now I have to just wait (impatiently) for the patterns to arrive in order to start making the dress, at least I have my knitting and poetry to keep me occupied in the meantime.

So long for today and thank you once again for joining me, I look forward to joining you again tomorrow, have a lovely day today wherever in the world you are.

Siwzy

Watching Squirrels (William Worthless)

theres nothing I like more a wonderous site to see

I like to see the squirrel jump from tree to tree

jumping between the branches never ever still

bouncing in and out using so much skill

keeping so much balance he does it all with ease

making it look easy on his own trapeze.

then climbs in  a hole that is very deep

shuts his little eyes then off he goes to sleep.

Hello dear readers, I hope I find you all well today.

From early childhood I have had a vivid imagination especially when it comes to cloud watching, it is amazing what shapes you can seen in the clouds when linked with imagination.  Today the sky is blue with clouds flitting across and so far I have seen a dog chasing his ball with tail curled up behind him in pleasure and a tree with strong  trunk and wide heavily laden branches, but how quickly the wind changes their persona to become just another fluffy white cloud, a wonderful if somewhat day-dreamy pastime, is it any wonder my teachers used to call my attention back from the world outside to classroom to inside again!  I have seen books of the pictures that clouds can depict, asserting that I am not alone in being dreamy headed, or is it observant, why I wonder, do I find the clouds so evocative, even a stormy day's clouds hold wonderful pictures.  “Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add colour to my sunset sky.”  Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds  How many of you are cloud watchers?

Yesterday was a really busy day, working in the morning and not getting home till mid afternoon, and a quick visit to the supermarket.  Yes I did take my produce bags, but I didn't use them, instead I used a jute shopping bag and put all the loose vegetables into that, and as most supermarkets now have labelling scales for the people who wish to use the self service checkouts, I weighed the items and printed the label, stuck each label inside the jute bag and handed this to the cashier, which he then hand scanned, commented how much quicker this was than zapping each bag through and why doesn't everyone do it.  It did take a little longer and you need to be prepared to pack and unpack the veggies to weigh and they pack much more efficiently taking up all the available space in the bag, but how pleasant to come home with a bag of fruit and veg, not two bags of plastic, air, fruit and veg. I will keep this up and hone it to be more streamlined, but for now I am happy, a little more towards helping the environment.

Today sees the official opening of the winter olympics in Russia, although beset by horrific homophobic hatred within the state, may I wish all those taking part every success.

As always, thank you for joining me today, have a lovely weekend and I hope that all is well wherever in the world you are.

Clouds

I’d have to be really quick

to describe clouds -

a split second’s enough

for them to start being something else.

Their trademark:

they don’t repeat a single 

shape, shade, pose, arrangement.

Unburdened by memory of any kind, 

they float easily over the facts.

What on earth could they bear witness to? 

They scatter whenever something happens.

Compared to clouds, 

life rests on solid ground, 

practically permanent, almost eternal.

Next to clouds

even a stone seems like a brother, 

someone you can trust, 

while they’re just distant, flighty cousins.

Let people exist if they want,

and then die, one after another:

clouds simply don't care

what they're up to

down there.

And so their haughty fleet

cruises smoothly over your whole life

and mine, still incomplete.

They aren't obliged to vanish when we're gone.

They don't have to be seen while sailing on.

Translated by Stanislaw Baranczak and Clare Cavanagh

Zero G day

Hello dear readers, I hope I find you all well today.

Well today is zero G day, Jupiter and Pluto are aligned perfectly to decrease to gravity on the earth, so you and jump and float for a few seconds, there will be strong tidal pulls things will be lighter to lift.  That's the prediction by celebrated astronomer Patrick Moore some years ago and published by some websites and journals that we have been working towards this day for a number of years.  But is this the case? Apparently not.  It is true that it was predicted by Patrick Moore during his radio programme, but this was on April 1st 1976, so for all of us who jumped and came down as quickly as before, or tried to lift heavy items and found they were still as heavy or we were weakening fast, not to worry it was just an April Fool from may years ago being upheld to fool us again this year.  I loved reading that this morning and felt I should share it, after all it has been doing the rounds on twitter and Facebook as fact!  I always look forward April Fools day to see who far fetched, yet believable these items can be, the most memorable in the UK has to be the spaghetti tree on Panorama many years ago.

Today I shall continue sorting out my office, now designated junk room as I prefer to work from the dining room table, warmer and brighter than upstairs, loads of paperwork was shredded last week all totally unnecessary, but seemed so at the time!  I really need somewhere to organise my knitting and sewing things, whilst still having the household and work paperwork readily available.  Then as I said yesterday I will work on the produce bags.

For my offering today I have selected (with the help of Google) a teaching aid for children, quite a handy little ditty, but seemed appropriate for Pluto and Jupiter.

As always, thank you for joining me and reading my ramblings, have a lovely day wherever in the world you are and join me again tomorrow.  Bye for now,

Siwzy

Planets (anon)

Here are nine planets that we know.

Round and round the Sun they go.

Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars,

These are the planets near our star.

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, too.

Neptune, Pluto, we can't see you.

These are the nine planets that we know.

Round and round the Sun they go.