Comment moderation

Hi everyone.  Just a quick post to let you know I have enabled comment moderation on this blog.   I have had one or two anonymous people commenting on totally unrelated things which make absolutely no sense and I have since deleted their comments.

I may have inadvertently offended someone recently when I commented on another blog on the subject of decluttering.  If you are reading this anonymous, no offence was intended.  In the meantime comment moderation has been enabled so my lovely followers and readers are not being bothered by nonsense unrelated to the content of my posts.  Thanks for your understanding.

Anne  xx

Blogging

I feel a philosophical post coming on, so if you are looking for a lighthearted breezy post today, this isn't going to be one of them.

I wanted to say a few things about blogging and what it means to us.  There are many different reasons why we blog, but I think one of the main reason we do is to communicate, to have a sense of belonging to a community, to have a voice and for someone to listen.  I will be talking a bit about myself here so please tune out now if you wish.

I started blogging back in July last year, actually I stumbled into it and had no idea where it would take me or whether I had anything interesting to say and contribute.  I now find that is not the most important part of blogging for me.  The best part about blogging is getting to know other people and enjoy some of the experiences they have and their achievements.  For example Louise takes me on these most amazing walks (through her blog) and I'm discovering things about England I never knew.  Lucy and Jacquie have taught me how to crochet through their fantastic tutorials.  I'm learning just how strong women can be from Amy and  Donna even in the most difficult of circumstances.  You won't find what I'm referring to in just one post by these ladies, you would have to trawl their archives to get the full picture.  But WOW, they are amazing people, although they would be the last to say that.

So blogging fills a need for community in my life.  I find myself somewhat isolated socially because most of my girlfriends work outside the home and I do not.  But I have wonderful people from all over the world who are now a part of my community, those that I follow and those that follow me.   I'm so grateful for you and I'd like to say a big hello to my new followers here.  :)

I realise that this is a rambling kind of post but I'm getting to something else I've been thinking about the last few days and that's we cannot really understand someone unless we have walked in their shoes.  It's quite easy for us to be judgemental toward our fellow man/woman but I would like us to stop for a few moments and think how being judgemental can possibly be helpful to either the person who is being judged or to ourselves.  I'm not talking about our opinions here, we are all entitled to them, it's best they are kept to ourselves sometimes so as not to hurt others.

  I follow a number of blogs that are dedicated to having a beautifully decorated house in the shabby chic, all white style.  I like the look, enjoy seeing all the lovely arrangements they come up with on their mantels, their displays of objects from an era past, but I could never aspire to having a houses like theirs.  A little part of me would like too, so I live out those little dreams by viewing their blogs.  I have in the past viewed some blogs that always seem to be accumulating, acquiring and changing their decorations and asked myself, when will these people ever be happy with what they have?  Then I read a post by Wendy which gave me a totally different perspective on the need for some people decorate and then redecorate and it's called having a CREATIVE OUTLET.  Of all people, I should have understood that 'cos I'm in to all things creative.  I realised that I had been making judgements (silently) about people I had no business to be making judgements about.  It's a bit like me buying more yarn, or more card and papers, or another canvas and more oil paints so I can be creative.

There are some in blog land going through really tough times who see somebody elses ability (financially and time wise) to be creative, as a non essential part of life.  For them they are so hard at work keeping their heads above water emotionally, physically, mentally or financially, there is no room left for anything else.  What might be seen as a case of sour grapes, is the cry of a person who is so depleted of any time to just BE.  To have room for a little head space.  It is very easy for us to judge these people too when the best thing we can do is be empathetic, encouraging and supportive.

So I guess this post is about respecting and appreciating our differences, of realising things may not be what they seem from just reading a couple of blog posts and that we all have something unique to offer if only we'd scratch a little harder under the surface to find it. 

Have a lovely weekend every one and to those of you royal wedding watching, enjoy.

Anne  xx

Bloggers blank

 You've heard of writers block, well I've got blogger's blank.

Photo courtesy google images

I've had nothing to blog about this week.  I suppose it happens from time to time and I think hubby and I are in need of a day away from home.  Tomorrow we are planning a day meandering wherever the road takes us.  We might visit the sea, go for a stroll, have morning coffee and lunch in some little cafe and see if we can't refresh ourselves a bit.  I'll be taking the camera so I might find something of interest and worthy of a post.

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend.

Anne  xx

I like a challenge

One of the things I enjoy about blogging is the opportunities to learn something new, be inspired and occasionally be challenged.  I've seen the Photo Scavenger Hunt on a couple of blogs and when I saw that Louise was joining in, I thought I might have a crack at it too.

One of the things that appeals to me about this project is it will make me think, be more observent of my surroundings and perhaps force me to learn to use my little digital camera better so I can take nicer photos.

 

Here is Januarys list:

1. an abandoned building

2. a stained glass window

3. a goldfish

4. yarn

5. playground equipment

6. a library

7. a tombstone over 100 years old

8. your front door

9. a reflective surface ... not a mirror

10. something out of place

11. nature

12. bubbles




  Hubby belongs to a black and white photography club in the city and mentioning this project to him has already sparked lively conversation on where I can find a 100 year old tombstone.  This should be fun.  Anyone else care to join in?  I'm looking foward to seeing what photos participants take.

Anne  xx

100th post - Give away time

It's hard to believe I'm up to my 100th post. This blogging business is so much fun, time consuming, yes, but fun. I've met so many wonderful people doing all kinds of interesting things. Some are artists, some are crafters, some are decorators, some love to bake and cook and some talk about life. It's a fascinating world out there and I'm so happy to be a very small part of it. Blogging has challenged me to create more than I ever have before and I love it. It has been very good therapy for me as you will know from this post.

To celebrate this small milestone, I have a give away for you.  As some of you may know, I like to make things.  Things that are practical, helpful and pretty if possible.  So I've made four items that hopefully someone might be interested in receiving, and here they are.

The first item below is called a back sack.  It's made from cotton fabric, lined and is a cross between a back pack and a shoulder bag.  The bag is designed so that when you pull the straps, they act like a drawstring.  This is not my design.  I downloaded it a long time ago but can't find the link now so I can't credit the designer.

Thanks to Miss G. for being my model.

The back sack folds down quite small so you could pop it in your main shopping bag and use it for a spare.

The next item  is a roll up travel pouch for jewellery.  Or maybe even crochet hooks? :)  It's made from cotton and once again I can't take credit for the design, although I have added some of my own decorative touches.  The design came from a craft book my sister-in-law had and I don't have the authors name or title of the book.  Some of the jewellery I've used in this photo for display purposes, I've inherited.  Lucky me, I love old jewellery.

When you fold up the pouch, it's kept closed by tying the ribbons as can be seen in the first photo of this post.

The next item is an air freshener sachet (I showed you how I made them  here ), that can be used in the car or anywhere else you'd like, perhaps the wardrobe.  Put some dried lavender flowers, rose petals or cotton wool balls with a few drops of your favourite essential oil into the little calico bag and close.  Put the little bag into the pretty fabric outer bag and hang it wherever you want a nice aroma.

 I've left the ribbon long so you adjust it to suit your needs.

And now for the final item.  I've made bits and pieces of jewellery from time to time, earrings, bracelets, necklaces but never one of these.  It's a little bit quirky and I've used jewellery findings in unusual ways as decoration and added some charms.

It's a kilt pin brooch and quite heavy with all the added bits and pieces, so is probably best worn on a heavy winter scarf or jumper.

The materials used are costume jewellery items found at most craft stores. 

There's a very strong possibility I'll be adding something more to this give away.  Something to surprise you so I'm not telling.

If you would like to enter, leave me a comment telling me something interesting about yourself, anything.  I'd love to know a bit more about you.  If you are a follower, your name will go into the hat twice.  The close off day for entries is 30th November and anyone can enter.  I'll send a parcel anywhere in the world.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day/evening.

Anne xx

Thank you and a bit about blogging

In the last couple of days I've been given two blog awards.  I would like to thank Cheryl at  Time to Craft
for the Versatile Blogger award and Terrie at Creative Haven
for the Beautiful Blogger award.  I appreciate my blog being thought worthy enough to receive these awards but to be quite honest, I don't really know what to do now.  You see I blog for a number of reasons, none of which include being given awards.  As I'm still fairly new to the blogging world, I'm not sure of blogging protocol when it comes to awards.

I'm not really sure how to go about expressing myself here, so bear with me if you will as I struggle to tell you what's on my mind.  Let me first say how much I appreciate Cheryl and Terrie passing the awards my way.  I'm surprised and delighted.  Bearing that in mind, I'm hesitant to keep the ball rolling and pass on the awards, not because I can't find anyone worthy of such awards, it's more like how can I not pass awards on to everyone I follow and it's many.  Far more than on my blog roll, I haven't updated it recently.  I just can't show favouritism, because everyone I read, I read for a purpose.  Either their blog is beautiful, interesting, creative, gorgeous, helpful, inspiring, makes me think, enlightens me, encourages me, broadens my outlook, uplifts me, helps me to love the people in the world even more, gives me friendship and companionship, and so much, much more.  Some blogs give me all that and then some more, but I can't show any favouritism because they all make a positive impact on me in different ways and for that I THANK EVERYONE OF YOU!!!

So I'm wondering if I might graciously thank Cheryl and Terrie for their appreciation of my blog and leave it at that.  I would also like to share one very important reason why I blog and love reading all yours.  I suffer depression and anxiety.  If you've read my other blog 'Standing Up While Falling Down', you will already know all about this not so wonderful part of my life and I don't want to go into that on this blog.  However I would like to say that blogging has helped me get through some very nasty times I've had this past winter.  I started blogging in July after first reading about Lucy
over at Attic 24.  Her blog was/is inspirational, a bright, beautiful, colourful light in a very dark hole in which I sometimes live.  I found Lucy through Kathreen at  http://whipup.net 
who had a link to one Lucy's fantastic crochet projects.  So that is where blogging all started for me.  And it helps me on so many levels, too many to list here today.  I started my own blog because I thought I might have something to offer, something to share with all the beautiful people out in blog land who very generously share their ideas, creativity, love, humour, life and even sad times with us all.

At the risk of boring you too much more with my words, thank you to each and everyone of you who read my blog, to my followers, I'm amazed and very happy you do.  :-)  I hope my thoughts on this subject make sense and I certainly hope I've offended no one, I just don't want to be seen as unappreciative.

Have a fantastic day everyone,

Anne xx