New Year's Eve...

already Mother Nature is moving into spring mode...

and I am looking forward to a fresh start too...a spring clean of my head and my thinking...even if spring is a way off...

I've had a little freshening up here to start me off...hope you like the new look!

I don't make resolutions these days...just make wishes and have thoughts...grand designs and dreams...I do believe we are what we think and in the law of attraction...

So I think I'd like to enjoy more sewing and making...to run lots more workshops...to get back into some proper artwork...to spend time drawing and working in a sketchbook...more playing which will feed my creativity...


I'd like to...
to learn to cook more interesting meals
to have a slightly tidier cleaner house (?!)
to have lots more fun times with my family and friends...

and I'd like to see...peace around the world and greater fairness and opportunity...openness and understanding and sharing...so let's start here...my wish is for all...a new and better way of being and living in 2013...xx

It's a wrap...

Merry Christmas...a most peaceful and properous New Year to you all xxx

 

thank you for all your company here at Emmie and Emma HQ....look forward to seeing you in 2013...and to lots more textile loveliness and making and stitching and sharing!

Winter Soltice...

the shortest day...the longest night...and then the light begins to return...

and a special date...21.12.12... 

I have been out to give thanks and to bless the ash tree in our garden which is so beautiful all year round and gives us much needed shade in the summer...perhaps you have a tree or tree near you which would appreciate some love!

if you are interested in helping to bring peace to earth...in helping to create change...there is worldwide meditation happening this week, starting today 11.30-12.30 UK time...look here to join in...wherever you are in the world!  

Meditation? what's that? well...I just sit quietly (not a bad thing at this time of year!) and allow my thoughts to come and go...after a while they will quieten down...you can light a candle if you like, that always feel nice...I try to focus on my breathing...and let go...just sit in peace...

Winter Light

 Living light
Peeping through the crack of history
What new life seed
Do you bring forth?
No mere repeat of the past
Yet a variation on that form
Giving facility, possibility,
Redesigning an aspect
of love.


Kaaren Whitney

Winter Solstice 2002 

light and love to Mother Earth and to you all 

Emmaxx

a second Christmas thought...

very cold and blustery today, husband of patience is not at work on  a Wednesday this year so he's out there in the stormy weather...happy as Larry...wrapped up and tidying and sorting his world...we bought marker pegs today for him to do some path laying...he is easily pleased!

I love to see him outside enjoying all that he does...fencing, making sheds, moving things, digging... he and our daughter harvested willow at the weekend...it is all very real and grounding, an antidote to work and school.

So I am indoors trying to keep warm...no making today, studio work is on hold and I am indulging simple homely pleasures of sorting and tidying our possessions...and then we will do some more decorating...maybe or maybe not. This is a no pressure Christmas...

Christmas thoughts...

with less than a week to go... well, I tell myself that's plenty of time...so I am taking it one day at a time and one thing on my 'list' at a time...



thanks to daughter mine taking it into her head to go a-hoovering and a-moving of 'stuff' and husband of patience for a-digging up and a-potting up ...we have a lovely decorated living Christmas tree to enjoy as we go past on the landing upstairs...sounds a bit odd but we keep it cool out there (our house is fairly unheated!) and our living rooom is upstairs too, and when the stove is going in there it would be too hot for the tree...

so we put on the Christmas music and spent a pleasurable time on Sunday evening with the boxes of decorations collected over the years...some made by daughter when she was little, some by me, some given by family or friends...some from my childhood long ago...Christmas is memories...each year we make new ones...and the simple ones are the best!

hope you too are enjoying the last few days before Christmas...

there are times when only cake will do...

...especially if it involves chocolate too!

daughter mine had 2 cakes...one for her party and one for her birthday..rather like the Queen...only DM makes her own! Gone are the days of elaborate Barbie castle cakes made by Mum...with ice cream cornets for towers...actually it's quite a relief she makes her own as I am sure my cake baking is no where near up to her standard...tho of course I taught her all she knows...no, maybe not!

cake one had simple fondant icing made sophisticated with chocolate flicks...

and chocolate ganache for the middle...I can hardly say it let alone tell you how to make it!

cake two was a New York baked cheesecake with amazing delicate chocolate icing...mmm!

I want to celebrate my blog too...thanks to you all for 'bearing with' the lack of pics... and to all at Blogger...I had every faith and you came up trumps for me! It is so nice to be in technicolour again! If I knew where you lived I'd bake you a cake...or better still get DM to do it!

So it is now a verrry short time indeeed to Christmas...and where am I?  I ask myself...well of course the house is now imaculate, all presents bought, wrapped and posted too... cards made, decorations hung, mince pies lined up in the freezer....all that's left is to put a ribbon in my hair...in my dreams! 

Never mind, I like a challenge...so I will just muddle through as always... lower my standards and aim for happy times as we are very blessed and fortunate in where and how we live, and our house is full of love and creativity, as long as we are together and fit and well that is the best Christmas present I could wish for...

still a bit of hoovering and a tidy up wouldn't hurt...see you later! have a great weekend xx

life is full of choices

and it isn't always easy to see which way to go....

been such a busy couple of weeks...craftyness all round...oh and daughter mine's birthday and then the C-word...apparently not far off now so I really must do something about it...

it's funny how each year is different, this time last year I was in a frenzy of handmade Christmas making with knitting and sewing and daughter making chutneys and husband creating willow baskets...it is all much quieter this year...think I have been so full on with my now 'work' of making that my energy has gone into that and nothing else...still, all in a good cause...it's been an exiting and challenging year!

mm still not able to upload photos so I am deliberating some choices...

a) start a new blog...it's an opportunity to change what I want to (but might confuse my loyal readers and I would not wish to do that...plus all my business cards give this address!)
b) wait patiently and hope Blogger will sort it out
c) cease blogging and just 'do' facebook...but I would miss the space to post as much as I want...

mmm what do you think??

hope you are having a lovely time getting ready for whatever Christmas means to you...and NO STRESSING!! let go of the voice in your head and just enjoy the moment.... (note to self that is!)

celebrate the small things...

are you having fun? if not... get someplace quick where you are!
xx

10,000 women can't be wrong!

What a joyful Women Fest with textile art and making and stitching and knitting and yarns and fabrics and threads and books and inspiration...it was Harrogate...November...2012 so it must be the Knitting and Stitching Show...and it was amazing!

Had a wonderful time came home with tired feet and brain and and with a lighter purse, but rich in visual experience and inspiration.

Sadly this post is  without photos until I sort out photo storage isssue...apparently I am up to the limit on my storage space of 1GB

which I don't fully understand cos' in the blurb on Picassa it says:

PicasaWeb Albums offers 1 GB of free storage for photos and videos. However, files under certain size limits don't count towards this free storage limit. This applies to uploads for other Google products that store photos and videos in PicasaWeb Albums, including Blogger and Google Maps. 

which seems to imply blogging has no limit??

answers on a postcard please...

is this the end of my blogging career?? I trust not as I love blogging!!

I am confused and have gone for a lie down while the Universe sorts this out for me....

bear with...

Hope you have a great weekend...oo it's first chocolate of December today from the advent calendar..all is not lost!

love 
Confused of Cumbria  xx