A Quick Hello ~~~

Gentle Reader ~~~ nothing much is happening here at the moment, well, plenty is happening but nothing I feel you would want me to share, so I have generally been quite quiet.  I'm sitting here today trying to unfrazzle myself from a stressful, pear shaped morning, gathering my thoughts while sipping a mug of my favourite Constant Comment tea, and nibbling Lindor limited edition Orange ~~~I'm in heaven as orange is a favourite flavour of mine in anything ~~~ chocolate, Cointreau, tea, cakes, trifles, juice, even shampoo, soap and bubble bath, not to mention the real thing peeled and juicy, freshly dripping segments.  So, here I sit and thought I'd just type a few words to let you know I'm still around, mainly having a quick read of other journals drifting in the ether and leaving a scattering of comments ~~~ This poem just about sums up me and the weather at the moment ~~~

The Sky Is Low, The Clouds Are Mean

by Emily Dickinson

The sky is low, the clouds are mean,

A travelling flake of snow

Across a barn or through a rut

Debates if it will go.

A narrow wind complains all day

How some one treated him;

Nature, like us, is sometimes caught

Without her diadem. 

~~~~~

The weather is cruel now. The winds have blown almost relentlessly for the past three or four weeks now and suddenly winds of 20 mph seem calm by comparison. The rain when it falls is torrential and drives sideways.

So far, in less than a month, we've had Abigail, Barney, Clodagh, and lastly Desmond. Today's map has the all too familiar big, white arrows again ~~~ Just look at the wind speed today {the black circles, below} and this is fairly typical. Some days it is easier, others much worse. Bah Humbug!  I'm fed up with this now. As for the poor people in the north of England, my heart goes out to them ~~~ I should not complain about my weather ~~~

Every morning now I open my laptop to my Jacquie Lawson Advent Calendar to see what magical delight is ready to greet me, even distract me for a while as there are many activities, such as designing a snowflake, or decorating the grand tree that stands in the Square in the Victorian village ~~~

I have been doing a little more painting and reading some new books, most recent of which is Bill Bryson's latest release, "The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes From a Small Island" which is a jolly good laugh and a pick me up guaranteed to make you smile as he writes in his inimitable style. I was fortunate to be able to secure a signed copy too ~~~

Here are my latest Folk Art attempts {only my second effort at this} and I have to say I'm very happy how they are turning out ~~~ I'm getting the hang of this distressing technique that is quite the rage these days with the favouring of vintage ~~~The Eiffel Tower isn't finished yet, I have to work out how to make it stand up or turn it into the Leaning Tower of Pisa ~~~

For those of you who are my friends on Facebook, I have disabled my profile. I do not know if this is a permanent move or a temporary one. Let's just say 'until further notice' and I'm getting a lot more things done since I've made this move. It is a very distracting activity, and I don't think I realised how distracting until this last week or so. I confess I am severely lacking in self discipline {I think it is that free spirited inner child and the artist within} and I am easily led astray with distraction activities ~~~

The freezer is emptied, defrosted, cleaned, and now reset and filling up with goodies for Christmas, and to see us through the Winter months ahead. I feel happier with it full at this time of year just in case the weather turns really bad and deliveries cannot get through.  My dry store cupboard is due to be turned out later this week and have it's quarterly sort through.

The rest of this week I will be baking cakes and mince pies for the freezer and finishing off and labelling jars of Raspberry Jam and Cranberry Jelly I made earlier this week.

Did I mention previously that I won £50.00 of Lakeland vouchers? Well, I did, and this is what I spent it on ~~~ a lovely hamper of treats. I decided to treat myself and not spend it on mundane necessities ~~~

Doesn't it look scrumptious? And, there is a lovely wicker hamper for picnics later on too ~~~ I could tuck in right away but must be good and keep it for Christmas ~~~ The bag of fudge is particularly endangered!

Here is somewhere you might like to visit Susan Branch's latest blog "On with the Dance!" It's a real happy place to visit and there's snow ~ and you can sign up for the "Cookie Jar Willard" too, arriving in an inbox somewhere near you any moment now ~~~ I'm over there reading right now, see, I told you I am easily distracted ~~~

On that note, Gentle Reader, I must fly ~~~ I have never been so behind in the run up to Christmas, there are cards to write, there are jobs that are waiting my attention and I cannot keep putting them off just because I don't want to do them ~~~

Until next time

Sincerely yours
Deborah xoxo