A request

I know I haven't blogged for an age and this is probably a cheek but my eldest has been selected to go to India for a year to do voluntary work. Yes that's big one that was in Malawi last year, seems she's caught the travel bug and the helping others bug too which can't be a bad thing eh?

Project Trust is the charity she is going with and you can read all about them here.


Anyway she has to raise over £5,000 in funds for this trip and we have been coffee morning-ing (is that a word) like mad, selling anything that isn't nailed down and she will be doing a sponsered head shave in a month or two - gulp!

Anyway the lovely, dear, wonderful Abby over at BubsBears has very kindly organised a raffle.

A chance to win a custom made bear for just £1 an entry.



These are the kind of bears she makes - aren't they just GORGEOUS! Now imagine having one that is unique just to you, well you could.

You can either click below and Abby will explain it all to you plus you can check out all her fabby bears
http://bubsbears.blogspot.com/2012/02/who-wants-to-win-bear.html

OR

You can click HERE which will take you directly to big one's Money Giving page where you can enter as many times as you like (£1 an entry) just be sure to put your name and raffle entry in the information/comments so when/if you win we can contact you.

Please share this with as many people as you can as every penny really helps and is really appreciated. Oh competition is open till midnight on 13th March but donations are gratefully received anytime :) x

Thanks in advance and GOOD LUCK!

We didn't make the snowflakes but...

I did make all of these.

Christmas was.... well let's just say it was not one of our usual ones but with my job I guess that was to be expected.

I'm exhausted physically and emotionally but I am counting down the days to a whole week's leave. Hopefully that will help me start 2012 with a bit of va va voom. I'm determined that I'm going to rock 2012 and it's going to the year I make good things happen. Wish me luck.

Ho Sodding Ho

And that's me being polite ;)

Not one speck of tinsel has found it's way out of the Christmas decorations box yet. Small people have neither queried or requested it so I'm wondering just how long we can go without it all before it becomes silly and folk start to think I've really been reading those WatchTowers.

I've managed to scrabble together most of one child's presents from Santa, a wee pile for another child and barely a bulge in a carrier bag for the third one. Why does no one know what they want this year?!?

Where is my Christmas spirit? Well the bottled kind that had been languishing at the back of my cupboards for cough cough some time were shoved into a homemade hamper that I put together back in October for Mother to take back down the road with her for my brother and sister-in-law. How organised was I! Yeah ok I guess using the word shoved does imply that it was more a hasty thought of ooh let me quickly put something together for them and save myself a gazzillion pounds in postage.

I spent the equivalent of a small countries debt on sheets of stamps the other day in the hope that it would motivate me to actually write the Christmas cards. Not worked so far. Why do we have to send Christmas cards, am I the only one that finds writing them a chore? If you haven't spoken to someone all year why do you feel obliged to send them a card with snow on the front of it just because it's Christmas? You're probably not going to speak to them again all of next year.

I do however have our Christmas day meat sorted. I expect that says more about me than I'd want a psychologist to know but it was on offer and we really wanted to try one last year but they were all sold out. It's one of those 3 bird roasts thingys and its taking up a huge chunk of my freezer space as we speak. It better be good!

I think I need to sit down with my small people and make the hundreds of snowflakes we do every year and if that doesn't put some sparkle in my baubles then I must be a lost cause and there's no hope for me.

This post was brought to you under the advisement of dear bloggy friends who tell me to just write something/anything.....well you asked for it so how was it? :D

Lost: One blogging mojo

If found please return to Taz, she kinda misses it.

Reward: Possible handmade gift if said mojo has her crafting mojo tagging along.

Thank you.

Pssst!

Have you seen that Taz anywhere lately?

Isn't that her over there?

Is it? Are you sure?

TAZ! TAZ! TAZ! TAZ!

If it is her she better have some bread! Leaving us here all this time!



Photos taken by Taz during the summer holidays when we actually had a sunny day!

Wordy Wednesday

A NAVAJO LEGEND OF WINTER

NAYENGEZANI, Destroyer of Wizards,
Bearing the war club, the quiver and bow,
Sang as he strode through the roar of the blizzards
Over the road to the Mountain of Snow--

"There dwells the Cold-Woman, high on her barrow,
Sending the Winter to fetter the land;
Her shall I slay with the flint-headed arrow,
Freeing my race from her evil command!"

Deserts he traversed through perils uncounted,
Fearless of weapons, regardless of spells;
Threading the ice-cumbered cañon, he mounted
Clear to the crag where the Storm-Brewer dwells.

Wrinkled and agèd, unfed, unbefriended,
Lacking the lodge fire's comforting glow,
Shivered the Cold-Woman, tempest attended,
Shaking the robes of her pallet of snow.

Swept in a cloud through her frigid dominions,
Vague in the mists that enveloped her form,
Snow buntings fluttered on eddying pinions--
Spies for the Winter and heralds of Storm.

Loud spoke the Hero: "Thy harsh rule is ended!
Cruel my errand! The Spring to restore,
Ready to slay thee my strong bow is bended;
Men from thy rigors shall suffer no more!"

Tossing her tresses, she answered in sorrow,
"Loosen the arrow and slay, if thou wilt,
Blindly triumphant, forgetting the morrow!--
Mine be the triumph and thine be the guilt,

"When all the prairies, the forests, and mountains
Parch in a Summer that findeth no close!
When all the rivers and nourishing fountains
Fail for the lack of my bountiful snows!

"When not a breath of my blustering season,
Health-giving, freshens a pitiless sky!
When those thou lovest, undone by thy treason,
Thirsting shall perish and fevered shall die!"

Low spake the Hero, unnocking his arrow:
"Mine is the folly! Thou, Mother, art wise.
Rule as thou wilt from thy snow-shrouded barrow,
Sender of blessings that come in disguise!"

Nayengezani strode down through the ranges
Homeward, untainted with death-doing wrong,
Blessing the Year for its glorious changes,
Weaving his thought in a burden of song:

"Dark is the East Wind and yellow the West Wind!
Blue is the South Wind and white is the north!
Who hath the wisdom that knoweth the best wind--
Save the Creator Who sendeth it forth!"

The Cold-Woman - Arthur Guiterman

Wordy Wednesday

On the Way to School - Charles Ghigna

I'll tell you why I'm tardy and I hope my excuse will do.
I stopped to view upon a leaf a spider and some dew.
She spun a web before my eyes with a soft and silver hue,
And when she looked, I looked at her and whispered, "Peekaboo!"

I think I may have startled her and so I waved good-bye,
But when I turned around to go, I met a butterfly!
I almost caught him in my hand to bring to class for you,
But when I tried to peek inside, away my treasure flew.

And that is how I'm tardy, but I had to tell you why.
It's all the fault of a spider's web and a sneaky butterfly!