Saturday, December 31, 2011

OK last one...



when we were old enough to stay up late
and actually bring in the new year with the
grown ups
my father would be given a little  packet of something and thrown out the back door
only to re-appear at the front door
as the clock was stricking
mid night
it wasn't for ages that I found out what the hell they were doing
well you know
champers and booze and  a little party partay
made the
old folk act weird sometimes
well
flash forward a few years and it was
husband who was given a little packet and thrown out the back door
only to re-appear at the front
my mother always took care of this
and when my sons were old enough
we threw son #1 out
he has dark eyes which apparently makes it
stronger

for those of you who are lost and thinking of leaving
it's the
 of which I speak



the first person through the door sets the mood for the year
they are supposed to bring gifts with them
salt
tea
bread
and
money
is what we always did

I always wondered
as I sat in the semi-darkness and watched
 as things were taken out of the cupboards
and pockets and salt cellars and tea caddies
if it made a difference that the first things in
were already here
but
not to be the one to
cross the forces that be
may your first footer bring you
health wealth
and
above all
happiness



I will be trying to figure out the
new gadget
and wondering
how may images I could get if I just kept going....



this is the new toy
I don't know what to do with it

is there an app
for that

if I give it the tea and salt and money and bread
will it tell me
how the hell to
work it

have a good one folks

xxxxxxxxxxxxx


:) :) :) :) :) :) :)


Friday, December 30, 2011

thank yous,


a page full of them


:)



Oprah used to say
or maybe it was one of her
new age
gurus or knowitalls
that you get back what you
put out into the
universe
well
jimminy crickets crikey
holy cow
batman
I must have been puttin' some damn fine
somethin'
out there
this year
'coz
what I've been getting back
is
just
fantastic
I am always bowled over by what you write and tell me
you have no idea how happy it makes me
and how,
unbeknownst  to you,
it usually comes at a time
I sure could use
some positivity

(yes that is a word
the spell check just checked it!!!!)

anyway
 not to go off on a tangent
as I am wont to do
I just want to say
what a great bunch of people you all are
and how much I enjoy knowing you
some better than others
sure
but in general
I haven't bumped into anyone
I wouldn't sit down with and have a cup of
???
with


and yesterday I got a big big surprise
a big one
I received not one but two
packages in the mail
two
on the same day
from different
people
 in different countries!!!
want to see...
sure...
won't be jealous
will ya...
won't want to come over and pilfer a little

coz
I'm not sharing
with anyone
well
have to  will happily with the husband
but only if he gets there first!!!!!
or finds out where I hid it all

:) :) :)

this is from Norway
where the snow isn't falling no matter how hard
Svana wishes for it to
her children made ornaments and they sent one of them to me
how wonderful
and I also got a star
that I can not make without getting all bothered and huffy about
and two adorable stones with messages of
hope and happy on them
and
some squishy squashy yarn
 that is already on the needles
so I can make the grandson
a hat
he likes
hats and maybe a bunnie or two with the brown
and a couple of white Norwegian mices with the white
oooooh what fun
and I'll tell him the story of where the wool came from
and who gave it to me
and why
and where and when
and we'll look it all up on the computer
and he'll learn about the other countries where all the other sweet generous people live
takk
to all in Norway
I have put them with my treasures on the mantle
so I can see them all the time
xxxxxx'x



and another place where there are wonderfully sweet people
would be on the west coast of France
where
Valerie lives
near the ocean and under the big blue sky






a box full of goodies and wonderful things
sweets and tea and a magazine to test my
school girl French...
maybe with the help of
Google Translate
I can whip something up for
New Year!!!
and under the goodies was a
shawl
that Valerie made
it is beautiful
it's soft and light as a feather
and I love it

I love it all
everything
every single thing
all
I'm such a spoilt brat

and I love it!!!!
and you

knowing me I will be sawing logs (asleep) well before the clock strikes 12
but it doesn't mean I don't wish you all
A
Happy New Year

hope the new one is better than this one
coz this one didn't have so much going for it
but hey
we made it through another one
mostly together and in one piece
won't go into the annus horribilis
thing
............................................................
so
here's to a better one
and
hugs to all
big ones


:)
xxxxxxxx


Sunday, December 25, 2011

another "country" heard from!!!



la la la

llllllllllllllaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
!

Saturday, December 24, 2011




A very




Merry






and bright






to one and all

bless you all
with nothing but the best

thanks for another
fun year
 here
in
the
roomontheleft

:)



Thursday, December 22, 2011

cue the theme from star trek...

............................................

happy winter solstice
to you all
welcome the light back
even though it takes months for it to come back
we turned another corner and back into the light we go

yeah!!!

the husband celebrates that now
more than christmas
so.............
 this morning
I got
a
present
....................................................

it takes pictures
and you can talk on it
and play games
and look at the stars in the day time
and find out exactly where you are
coz
it has
AAAAPPPPPSSSSSSS

I got appsss
!!!!!!

:) :) :) :)

!!! well the free ones !!!

:)
   




this isn't an app
it's a picture taken on the
present I got this morning
it isn't very good because I have no clue as to how to adjust
a not very adjustable
gadget

and no you aren't seeing things
chicky boy there has only one eye!!!


so I went with my gut
and
left everything
as it was
and
it's got too much
light coming into it
but
hey
I'll have to play with it
to see if it can do better
than blue

hm mmm

that's me and my mum on a boat a thousand years ago
but I was looking at the star!!!




if we had been told a few years ago
well QUITE a few years ago now
that we would be taking
pictures with our
phones



we would have told them
they were nuts
cooook cooo
that that was for the birds
well it isn't and you can
and I did
so there

my old phone died a few weeks ago
and I thought I had decided to go without
or just get a plain and simple thing

I did not expect such a fancy shmancy device
I should have
knowing the man in the other room and his love for all things
gadgety
and the son got involved too apparently
and they got
mama
all hooked up
she can swish and minimize the screen all she wants now
she can
say

OH!
I got a' app for that!!!

wonder how many hook and needle apps there are!!!!!

who knows
 you may find yourselves on the thing one of these days
if blogs go on there too

it's hilarious
it's not really needed
but
well
hey
they bought it
so
I'm
happy

is there a happy app!!?

coz if there is
i'm loadin' it!!!!

have to go and wrap stuff now
see ya
and
happy happy
back to the light
 y'all
............................









Tuesday, December 20, 2011

happy and sad


hello there....

see you can have the holly and the ivy
right there on the hutch
along with lots of candy!!!!
found this plate and had to have it
we sort of went shopping yesterday
but luckily the shelves were bare

seems the local economy is having  a good season
we don't really
"do"
Christmas anymore
no stress of buying everything you see
stuff just for stuffs sake
used to do it but then one year I found out that no one noticed all the things I didn't get done
and when I asked about it
they said they hadn't noticed
so I didn't anymore


for the first time in a long time
I have an amaryllis
blooming



I cheated and bought it in bud already!!!
hey
when you can....
do...
I say!!!!
unfortunately it isn't the
candy cane one from last year
that was really
sweet
but I didn't see any this year
well that's what you get for cheating I s'pose!!




I like it when Christmas things start mingling with everyday things

 
on his trip through the house the other day
the grandson found these in the drawers
and took them out and they got left where he put them


and I put two things from different people together
the card from one
the little jingle wreath from another
need to re-arrange and tidy up a bit
Mr hippo thinks so too
he's done scaring the little girl
'tis the season of goodwill after all!!!

now on to something that made me as happy as a
pig in
mud!!!
Last week
my favourite artist from the big woods

put up in her shop
some of the sweetest little things
I have ever seen
the very second they hit the shelves
they were swooped up by her many other fans and followers
and I missed my chance
but luckily she made a few more
so I pounced
and got...
..........................................
myself
 an
acorn
yes an acorn

 
but
 M.....
I hear you say
M...
you have your own acorns
out there in the yard
outside your window
beyond the roomontheleft
your own
'corns
out there among the leaves and other woodland debris
many of them
lots
tons maybe
in a good year
why would you be buying
acorns
 from the big woods
 up north
pray tell
I will tell
with a big goofy grin on my face
look what the
acorns
from
the
big
woods
up
north
come
with
................................



have you ever in your life seen anything soo adorable
sooo sweet
sooo imaginative
sooo pleasing to the eye
just soooooo
stinkin' cute
????????????????????????????????????
no, no you haven't
unless you visit with Lisa often and always
and see her works of wonder
this is my Christmas present this year
I wanted nothing else
seriously
and
 now 
 I have it
I'm happy

thank you Lisa


(the other things I want for Christmas and the rest of time
you can't make or buy
or even find in the woods
big or otherwise
so I chose this to make me happy for now)

:)


and now to the sad
my flickr friend Mary got  such sad news today
Mary lives in Italy
she makes these adorable little figures for people
along with other things
I showed you a while ago
I entered a giveaway on her blog
but this time I was not so lucky!

 
she sent me this lovely little photo as a consolation prize  and it came yesterday too
 when I wrote to say thank you to her today she told me
she has to leave to go to her mother's side
in Australia

Mary, know I'm thinking of you
take care and even though it's a sad time
take all that you can from it
best wishes
M
xxxx
;\

hope all is well with everyone
hope you are getting the weather you want
I know my Viking Princess is

******:) :) :) :) *******

Svana is out there in the snow with her camera
clicking each one as it falls
stay warm and dry all
see ya
.....................................

oh and while I have you
amazing thing the husband found today
it's days old...
but we live far out in the country you know,
 it takes the news a while to get to us!!!!!

:) :) :) :) :) :)



Monday, December 19, 2011

not much...

don't want this to sound like I'm
complaining
or grouching
or
'itching
but I am

:)

!!!
it seems that slowly slowly
my blog is disappearing
things are happening to it and I don't know why or how
and when I try to find out
I
just
get
pissed
......................................
royally
p o'd

:(




it started a little while ago
when I opened it up on the front page
(I'm not usually on the front page as I do most of what has to be done on the dashboard
or here in the
'write yourself an interesting post
and they will come'
section)
anyway I saw that the header photo was a quarter of the size it should be
all be it a bit on the large end of things
so I went to where you are supposed to be able to change things
and
changed things
and
nothing happened
OK........
as you saw it took me a few days to figure out  how to solve that problem
just re-arrange a few buttons and bits
and
Bob's your uncle
a smaller but better put together header

the column on the right hand side
is all buggered up
and the things that should show
aren't
my "followers" are gone
my "blog frog "list is
gone
and there is too much space between the top and the start of the
list of things
I wasted spent time the other day trying to get everything to move up
or down
or over
but to no avail
even called in
husband
who just
annoyed me
so he was banished

:}

so
is anyone else out there
in
BLOGGER land
finding things
not quite
up to snuff
and if you are
did you solve the problems
if so
will you  share
pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease
it's driving me
NUTS
..................................................................................................................




I made a(n)
'at
it's black
which is why
you can't really see it
Mother Goose
wants to know why
I
made
a
wig?????
.........................................................

the first photo is of the
hyacinths from last year
I ignored and abandonded them all summer long
but that didn't stop them
from coming back
smaller
shorter
fewer flowers
yes
but
less smelly or blue
NO
they stink up the whole place
and are
 so so so
sweet
I named them
short arse
and
shorty
and
 they make me smile

Ok I'll leave you alone now to get back to what you were doing
and always remember these wise words
...
if you are the only one who
does it all
and it doesn't all get done
you're the only one who knew what you wanted to do
so
they won't even know
therefore
they won't miss it
........................................................

now go and embroider that on a pillow

and
 have yourself a good one
as they say in the stores and I always want to ask them
a good what??
bye

:)


























































































































Friday, December 16, 2011

doesn't take much....




to make me happy
I have been described as
a cheap date
only this isn't a date
it's just to show how small things
can make me turn on a dime
a penny a yen a euro
a franc a lira
and get the spirit in a minute


I saw these
 in the useless craft store a couple of visits ago
four for $1
I picked them up
I love houses in any way shape or form
they are small enough to be cute and big enough to put something in
well I have three now
grandson took one home the other day
with an owl inside it
hey the owl had to live somewhere
:)


then
while looking for decent fruit and veggies
I came across this
a
Christmas Cactus

in the basket it went
with its cute little red flowers all ready to pop open and
sing
Noel to us all
well I may as tell you now
by the time we got home
two of those cute little red flowers had survived the trip
and now
there is one!!!
and it ain't singing

Oh well
it's green and it has shiny paper wrapped around it


then I spied the m&m people
a him and a her
so they joined
the then lovely plant
I love his sarcasm in the commercials
he's my kinda Santa
then a package came
and it had sweet little bags
oooooo I thought
the spirit is showing itself and you are on the verge of
feeling merry
mery!!!!
so today
because it is the day of the great cleaning

I cleaned
I sneezed
I coughed
I smiled

it all came together when in the search for a tablecloth
that at the moment is hiding somewhere
but it will be found
I came upon two
not one
but TWO boxes of little white lights
brand new in the boxes
short too
just what I needed
to make it all complete

so after a whole lot of washing and dusting and re-arranging

we have
merriment
in the
kitchen




so back I go to hunt down the cloth

hope you got the spirit
or
it gets you

see ya
...........................................................................................................



*
...
.....
.............
....................
.....................................
|


:)
x









Thursday, December 15, 2011

all that's left....

    

wasn't really thinking of posting today
but then I went to Flickr
and saw a seven day old comment
on a photo I posted
who knows when...
it's from Mahdu
who saw something in the background of the photo and made mention
it's a plate that belonged to my mother
it's old and chipped and the glaze is all crazy
but I keep it
....
it was my mother's!!!!




I remember being told as a child that my Mother had a "thing"
 for tea sets and dinner services
as they were called
anything china actually
apparently when they lived in Egypt and had a nice house and were probably all settled in
expecting to live their life there
she collected them
but history took over the story and
in what must have been a  very short and stressful time
they swooped my sister and I up and carried us off
out of a country in turmoil
into another
 strange and unknown
I have no memory of Egypt or our arrival in Kenya

I do remember our first house there
but not the journey to it


having no memory of Egypt makes my memories of childhood in Africa the place I think of as home
in a way
we had tons of friends
my parents lived a good life
and the memories are of wonderful things and sights
and even more wonderful holidays in other even more exotic places




the sister and I really do appreciate how very lucky we were to have lived that as young children
and then when the bad times came again
I most certainly was too young to understand the danger and the stress of having to
once again up and leave a life behind
and move on
this time to my father's home land of England
I was 10 when we got there and the first memory is of
feeling cold
we arrived in January
and it was
cold

I can still see us
standing on the thing in the middle of the  road waiting to cross to go and buy
winter coats for us all
and my mother crying because her girls were
cold!!!!
honest....
I even remember the coat
it was tweedy but in blues
and it felt strange


we had no home there of course
my father had no family or place to live
so we stayed in a bed and breakfast
that was run by someone my parents knew from another visit I think
but it was cold and smelly and we didn't like it
and we ate at what was called a
"caff"
in England
a cafe but they mispronounced it
don't know if they still have them or call them that!!!
Ruth...Mia...Elaine..... anyone!!!
anyway the food was horrid and so was everything else
my poor mother and father
it must have been hell for them


they left everything behind....again
we just had what they could carry and the clothes on our backs
.......................................................
but we had a place to go
some didn't
so we were OK
just a bit lost I guess



and after a while we found a place to live
just down the road from
HRH Elizabeth II
who
 I used to visit
well, she never knew I was there
but I knew she was!!!!!!

:) :) :)

and slowly slowly they/we acquired that
 which makes a home
and my mother got herself some new
china sets
and this is all that's left of her last one
I did dream once of getting it all replaced from that china company that finds old china
but I don't think I will
this was hers
the ones they found
wouldn't be
and new
is out
of the question
.....................................................................................




the end!!!!!