Make do and mend

Ever since I was given my first cross stitch kit, I've loved sitting quietly and stitching. I bought this kit at Hampton Court Palace where the Royal School of Needlework (who did the lace for Catherine Middleton's wedding dress) is located. 

I'm itching to get started on the kit but first I had to do a little bit of housework. Because I love stitching, I don't mind patching things that need to be given a little extra lease on life. My stitching is very mediocre but I do enjoy it. I have to be very careful darning socks though because I tend to make a lump in the sock that is worse than having the hole!

An old friend once told me that she enjoyed making bead necklaces because she found it relaxing. So on the strength of that I bought my own beading kit but found that it wasn't so relaxing for me. Doing cross stitch or mending does hit the right spot for relaxation for me so I guess it's different strokes for different folks.

These are my stitching housework bits and bobs. I had to patch two bags (left, and below left) and while I was away I had to add some extra velcro onto my bag (right) to keep it closed more easily.

Today has been delightfully event-filled

Lunchtime today was at Vida e Caffé, Gateway and opposite was the iStore with the queue for the new iPad (iPad 2) going out the door and down the passage.

When I visited my parents this afternoon there was great news in the Mercury. Madame Zingara's circus (and the fabulous food) is coming back to Durban. Check out www.madamezingara.com and take some friendly advice: don't hesitate before making your booking, tickets sell like hotcakes!

And then this evening my husband brought home the cutest "Royal Couple Cookies" - so named by his colleague who bought a "couple" for everyone on their team.

Four little friends with cheery faces

These little guys cheer me up while I'm at my desk. They're actually marker pens (the "heads" are the lids and the bases are the marker pens). My husband found them when he was tidying and they are just so charming as they wobble on their little bases and keep smiling.

Wakey Wakey

Every cloud has a golden lining....



















Well, that's the way it looks this morning out of my window.

Happy Friday everybody and enjoy the long weekend.

White horses

Could not drag me away from you....

Apologies for the mis-quote. I always seem to remember only tiny bits of song lyrics. This one is from Gino Vanelli's "Wild Horses" but I was thinking of the white horses on the sea because it has been a very windy day. Regrettably you can't see the white horses in my little photo.

A few of my favourite things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens and some new stuff that brings a smile to my face.

The Package Project rides again

I was thoroughly disappointed when I found that I had joined the blogosphere too late to participate in last year's Package Project, a spectacular, amazing, awesome, super cool (sub zero) initiative by Cupcake Couture.

Explanation directly from The Package Project website: The Package Project is an exchange aimed to connect bloggers around the world and to grow the blogging community even further. It is all about swopping pretty packages and handmade delights. The packaging only makes the exchange more fun so get creative...strings, manila tags and ribbons galore. Each package must be a joy to receive and each time you do receive one...pop out your camera and snap away. This way we all get to share in a bit of your excitement.

There are 4 sleeps until Christmas

I totally ADORE the fact that all over the world even we so-called "grown-ups" know exactly what 4 sleeps to Christmas means. There are also: 86 hours, 5180 minutes, 310600 seconds to Christmas, which translates to 3 days, 14 hours, 15 minutes and 20 seconds!

So get your shopping finished!

Percy Pig comes to SA at last

I've read about these sweets in British Vogue. The staff at Vogue like them so much that they have a stash available on photo shoots. Apparently at one stage, Marks & Spencer withdrew them from their product line and there was such a huge response from fans of the sweet that Marks & Spencer had to re-introduce them. As a result I've been dying to get my hands on a packet to taste them for myself.

And now we can get them here in SA at Woolworths (seen them at McKeurtan Avenue, Durban North and Gateway, Umhlanga). You'll probably notice that the packet I've scanned is empty. That's because the sweets are really fruity and super yummy.

Wedding floral options

Denise at Freshly Found is sending off some of her beautiful origami flowers for someone's wedding - lucky girl that's having such a stylish wedding. When my florist let me down I went out and bought some fabric roses and made my own bouquet which turned out to be a perfect because they stayed "fresh" and I still have them as a beautiful reminder of the day. 

Earth as Art

Byrd Glacier, Antarctica

Sometimes I like being reminded that life in all its forms is utterly awesome. The image and text are from Wired Science

Truly a river of ice, Antarctica's relatively fast-moving Byrd Glacier courses through the Trans-Antarctic Mountains at a rate of 0.8 kilometers [0.5 miles] per year. More than 180 kilometers [112 miles] long, the glacier flows down from the polar plateau (left) to the Ross Ice Shelf (right). Long, sweeping flow lines are crossed in places by much shorter lines, which are deep cracks in the ice called crevasses. The conspicuous red patches indicate areas of exposed rock.

Image taken by Landsat 7 on Jan. 11, 2000

Oh what a wonderful holiday

Despite hailstones the size of marbles...

The necessity for a complete getaway took us to Cathedral Peak Hotel for a week. Just looking at their WeatherWebcam showing the tea garden and the mountains in the background proves it's a very restful place to get away from city life and daily worries.

On Monday night (1st November) there was a brief thunderstorm which developed into a hailstorm. We have a friend with a fantastic photo of a bolt of lightning and I was hoping we would get a chance to catch some similar images but the storm was over too quickly. Not that I mind about the rain stopping. My husband tends to get gloomy when he can't take photos.

I got the chance to catch up on some reading (biographies and the latest British Vogue) while my husband added almost 1000 photographs to his portfolio.

I know the break did me a lot of good. I feel as though some of the cobwebs in my brain have been cleared away. Now to set out my goals for the next few weeks and months...

Sigh...

Thanks to ikhaya I have found notonthehighstreet.com and having family in the UK and with the necessity of sending Christmas presents, this site is a treasure trove. I'm so excited about the hours of online shopping I am going to do. Just looking at their home page makes me sigh and go weak at the knees with excitement. Everything I see is a sample book of the kind of things I am in love with right now. My other favourite place to shop for presents for my family in the UK is Etsy.com

There was a time in my life when Christmas was a difficult time of year but some time ago I met someone who enjoyed the Christmas season with such vivacity that my attitude was changed. Now again, I experience joy in the time spent with family, the giving of gifts and the spirit of rejoicing that is synonymous with Christmas.

Woolworths being awesome

My thanks to Ask Ashe for showing what Woolies is doing for schools and the environment. Go to http://askashe.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/woolies-encourages-green-fingers/ or link directly to the Woolworths site at: http://www.woolworthslivingwall.co.za/

Just select an empty bottle, choose a seedling (pick a Basil, Spinach, Strawberry or Tomato plant), give them your name and email address to register and they will donate a real plant to a South African school with a permaculture food garden. You can see your virtual plant on the wall with your name on the bottle. And you can plant as many seedlings as you like! Woolworths is definitely leading the pack in developing an environmentally friendly company policy.

Yay, hooray!

Hooray hooray hooray! I've received my ring made by Karin Rae! 

I saw a ring like this on http://askashe.wordpress.com and fell in love. I looked on Dear Rae's site (http://www.dearrae.co.za) and couldn't find the same ring so I wrote and begged. I've waited three weeks because a new ring had to be made specially for me but it is every bit worth the wait. It was so beautifully packaged and fitted perfectly.

Every year since I turned 30 I've been buying a birthday present for myself (justifying an expense that would be unjustified any other way). This year the ring above was my present to myself and I couldn't have chosen anything better. 

I've always thought that birthdays are such a personal time so I always spend more time deciding on a birthday present for friends and family than I do on a Christmas present. And what better way to add joy to your birthday than to also include a present from yourself! After all, we often hear that we should "be your own best friend" and this is one of the truest little clichés because if we don't take care of ourselves, how will be in a position to take care of others.