Things I’ve Learned This Week.

Hello, good morning and …. HAPPY FRIDAY!

I don’t know about you, but Fridays give me this funny little feeling somewhere between my tummy button and my … erm … my uhm  …  chest. (phew – that was touch and go there for a minute).  It’s an odd sort of feeling,  like my body is having a quiet giggle to itself.  A cross between a giggle and a tickle – but right inside me.  In the centre of my body.  Funniest little feeling.  Nice one though.

Aww … hush up Cobs.  Get on with the post already!

Right .. you’re here to read about how I’ve had my edumacation improved this week, so without further ado, I shall plunge straight in and get on with it.

This week I learned . . . that Liechtenstein is a tiny, doubly landlocked country tucked away between Switzerland and Austria.  It owes much of its wealth to its traditional status as a tax haven, though it has in recent years taken steps to shake off its image as a tax haven and to reposition itself as a legitimate financial centre.

However …  do you know that Liechtenstein is the Worlds Leading Manufacturer in  _______.   If you don’t know the answer to that …. have a guess.  Think about the country.  Think about where it is.  Imagine what you think that Liechtenstein is the Worlds Leading Manufacturer in.  Just take a wild guess.

Vaduz Castle, overlooking the capital, is home to the Prince of Liechtenstein

Let’s see if you guessed correctly shall we?  In actual fact, Liechtenstein is the Worlds Leading Manufacturer in  —>left click on your mouse and hold the click as you drag your cursor over this blank spot here —>FALSE TEETH<—  😀   If you’re anything like me you’ll have guessed that it would be some sort of speciality Beer.  But no…  such a beautiful place with such romantic feel about it – who could have guessed that fact?  lol

If you’d like to learn a little more about this enchanting place you can read more here:  The Spectator – Liechtenstein  the link will open up in another page for you.  If when the page loads, it asks you to ‘join up’ to their site, either close that smaller window or simply click back, then click forward and the Spectators efforts to get you to sign up will disappear so that you can read.

Now then … what else have I learned this week?….  ohhhhh… I know…

I learned this week that when you have a plan,  the world laughs at you and makes other plans just to see how you handle the new stuff which life has thrown at you.

My craft room is all set up in our converted garage.  The whole thing was already converted when we bought the cottage – so it seemed to be fate that brought us to it.

It took about a year before we were able to set up the room properly so that I could craft in it.  (we had to do renovations to the cottage after we bought it).  And I love it in there.  However … I did have to make a teensy bit of room for our washing machine.  But it’s located at the other end of the room, away from where I sit, so I didn’t bother too much about it.  BUT … this week it suddenly began making the most dreadful noise when it started to spin.  BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!  It got louder too.

So scared was I that I picked up the phone and called Mr.Cobs (he was in the cottage – our phones can call each other – so my phone in the garage can, at the press of a button, call the phone in the house.  It works!.  When Himself answered the phone I had to shout to hear myself talk….  “come to the craft room QUICK!”,   I was scared silly that the Washing Machine was going to suddenly blow up!

Well, shortening the tale … the Washing Machine has gone to Washing Machine Heaven.  So .. a new machine was found, delivery arranged, payment was made AT GREAT EXPENSE I might add!,  (I hope this new machine makes me my coffee, I’m telling you!).  Then Mr.Cobs said he’d have to get the old machine out, ready for the men to make delivery of new machine, and take old machine away with them.  And that’s where the trouble started.

It sounded like such a simple thing – remove old washing machine, make space for new one.  Oh. My. Goodmiss!  I hadn’t quite realised that there was a small(ish) Ikea unit which although not ‘in front’ of our old machine … it was enough in front, to stop the machine moving fully out of its position.  So that unit had to be moved.  Which meant that a whole load of stuff on the unit had to move, and then all the stuff which was on top of the unit had to be moved … and well, shortening the tale even further … a mess the size of a volcano happened.  I haven’t been able to work at my desk(s) all week.  I decided that since we’d got that unit out, then perhaps the best thing would be to re-site it and attach it to the sewing desk, so that the unit wouldn’t be in the way.

I won’t bore you with the jiggling which happened after that, but suffice to say … I could, at 7.30pm on Thursday night (yesterday) finally see a bit of my desk again.    So from all this I learned …  That I rather envied my Grandmother and how she told me about she used to do the washing for her growing family …. in a ‘dolly tub’ in the back garden.  BRING BACK THE DOLLY TUB!  It’s cheaper, and it doesn’t break down!

Credit: East Cleveland Image Archive

I also learned this week:  in quick, ‘bullet’ form ….

That . . .  80% of food has sugar added to it.

That . . .  Wasps must wear ‘uniforms’ by smearing themselves with wax from their nest, and then on their return, fellow wasps recognise they are from the same colony and accept them in.

That . . .  Mark Twain invented and patented the bra-strap clasp.  I kid ye not.  This really is true.

That . . .   Abulia is the word for the inability to make decisions.

A musophobist is a person who distrusts poetry.  As someone who will make up a bit of silly poetry at the drop of a hat – this was a real upset to me!

Depp means ‘twit’ in German.  This kind of upset me for a moment, because I used to have rather a soft spot for Johnny Depp …  but then I outgrew him so no longer upset.  🙂

The first commercial chewing gum appeared in 1871, after Thomas Adams had failed to make car tyres from the same ingredients.  Yes … that stopped me in my tracks too when I learned that.

The Pantone colour chart has 104 shades of grey.  So that means  *that fellow*  in  *that ’50 shades’ book*  was well below par.  (snigger)  I’m so glad that I didn’t read it.

and finally . . .

Male Ladybirds can spend up to four hours mating with a dead female before realising something is wrong.  Ok… I’m going to stand up and admit that I actually laughed.  I’m sorry.  I’m sorry to the Men Ladybirds.  I don’t think I meant to find that funny … but … well … it just kinda snuck up on me and before I knew it I was giggling like a schoolgirl.  (And each time I think of it, I start giggling all over again).  I don’t know why it tickles the heck out of me …  well, maybe I do…  but I’m not going to say.  Let’s just say that I apologise.  (and yes…. I’m giggling right now too).

I’ve learned rather a lot this week.  How I’ve managed to remember all of it so that I can share it with you, is way out of my understanding.  But I’m so glad that I did.  (Especially so the Lady(man)bird one.  LOLOL.  [now stop it Cobs.  Behave yourself!  tsk tsk.]

Well there’s only enough time for some jokes now, so I’d better get on with it….  ready?  OK.. let’s go!

Why did the bicycle fall over?  . . . Because it was two tired!

Why did the prune go out with the raisin?  . . .  They couldn’t find dates!

Did you hear about the corduroy pillow?  . . .   It made the headlines.

Why do they call them light bulbs?  …  Because they don’t weigh very much.

What’s red and looks like a bucket? . . .  A red bucket.

What’s blue and smells like red paint?  . . .  Blue paint

What’s orange and sounds like a parrot?  . . . A carrot

Why does Beethoven hate chickens? . . .  Because all they ask for is Bach Bach Bach Bach Bach.

and finally . . .

What is Beethoven up to now? . . . Decomposing.

I did say that we could talk more about Time Travelling this week … but I ran out of …..  lol.

Truth is, I think I’ve talked more than enough, so I’m going to shut up and give your brain a rest.

Also ….  My apologies to all the crafters out there, because I haven’t shared anything crafty with you this week.  Having had my craft room turned upside down hasn’t helped with any crafty endeavours  … but …  I’m filled with ideas for what I want to do, so I’ll try to be back next week with something lovely to look at.

I have a busy weekend coming ….  I’m hosting Little Cobs Birthday Party in our cottage.  I’ve been busy ordering, buying, finding and all manner of things.  So I’m really looking forward to his party on Saturday (tomorrow).  All I have to remember to do before then is find half an hour to wrap his gifts, instead of realising ten minutes before the party starts, that I haven’t wrapped them!  eeeek! 

So … what about you?  Do you have anything planned for this weekend?  Do share.  I’d love to hear about what you’re up to in your corner of the world.

Whatever you’re doing, may you find happiness and joy.  May the weather be what you’d like it to be, and may love enter your life softly, gently, and leave footprints on your heart.  Be good to each other, and . . . may your God go with you.

Brightly woven, cobwebby squidges, to you in your corner, from me in mine  ~

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Craft Living with Anne and Malcolm – 2

We first met Anne and Malcolm a few weeks ago (if you missed the first post you can find it HERE), and now they’re back again for another visit, to share with us all their unique observations on Life living with a Crafter via the use of photographs.

For those who haven’t ‘met’  Anne and Malcolm,  then  . . .  Crafters, Ladies and Gentlemen … May I introduce you to Malcolm and Anne. A glimpse into the exciting world of Crafters and their spouses.   

(Anne and Malcolm exist solely inside my imagination and for the purpose of…) . . . .

THE  COBWEB  CATALOGUE

of a Living  (in my imagination)  Crafter & Spouse

Malcolm loved that Anne was so happy in the craft room he’d ‘built’ for her, but one thing didn’t go down well with him at all.  The Voodoo Dolly strapped to the big star.  He wished with all his heart that she’d part company with that, because it gave him the heebie-jeebies and he didn’t like to go into the craftroom to get any of his cooking spices which Anne insisted should be in her craft room.  It made him wonder exactly what sort of ‘craft’ Anne was practising!

~~~~~~~

Anne had dropped (very) heavy hints to Malcolm, and even left brochures around the house  in the hope he’d get the idea about what she dearly wanted as a Birthday gift this year.  But on her Birthday, all he’d bought her was a wall mounted thingy-ma-jiggy-me-bob on which to store all her cotton reels,  and he still hadn’t noticed the lack of a sewing machine in her Sewing Room!

~~~~~~~

Anne was far happier now that she’d finally got
a ‘Naughty Basket’ for the fabrics which were
misbehaving,  and two Glass Jail Jars for those really
BAD fabrics who were the real trouble makers in
the bunch!  She was determined to teach them
a lesson!

~~~~~~

Back from their shopping trip, Malcolm took Anne’s new blue basket, filled with all the ribbons she’d bought that morning, down to her basement craft room.  That’s when he noticed the hastily packed suitcases under her fabric cutting desk.   The neighbours could hear that trouble was brewing in  ‘Chez Malcanne’,   as Malcolm climbed the stairs from the basement, two at a time, shouting:  “Anne!  ANNE!!”    with a rather cross tone to his voice.

~~~~~~~~

While Anne was away visiting her mother for a couple of days, Malcolm had planned to clean up her crafting room as a surprise for her upon her return.  He thought she’d love how clean and tidy it was now, and also thought she’d adore all the storage boxes with all their little drawers which he’d sorted her things into, and then spent four hours writing little sticky labels out for each drawer.  Sadly, we crafters among us know exactly what was going to happen the minute she stepped inside that door.  She would look around that room with horror mounting and registering on her face.  It was going to take her years to find all her lovely things – which despite what he might have thought,   were all in their correct places (for her) and she prided herself on knowing that she could put her hand on ANYTHING she required because she’d known exactly where it all was!  But not any longer!    Malcolm was going to be TOAST!

~~~~~~~~~

One corner of Anne’s Stitch, Knit and Sew Crafting Room was dedicated to what Anne affectionately called her ‘woolly life‘.  However,  Malcolm suspected that this corner had nothing to do with crafting, and instead believed it was a secret Breeding Programme.  The mound seemed to increase weekly, and yet Anne always laughed and denied it when he suggested to her that she’d been out buying more wool again.

~~~~~~~~

Well,  we’ve turned over few more pages of the ‘COBWEB CATALOGUE of life with a Crafter  & Spouse’,  for a bit of Wednesday afternoon fun.  I hope they’ve raised a few smiles, a smattering of gentle laughs,  or even modicum of cheer.

Have a truly blessed rest of your day.

The photos chosen for this post are randomly chosen and found on the internet, so publicly available.   I sadly don’t know who the photos belong to, so if you are the owner of any of them, please drop me a comment detailing which photo is yours, and giving me a link to the original posting of it, and  I’ll be thrilled to credit you to the photo.

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A bunch of Christmases all at once.

Happy December the 1st!

Yes  …  it scared me too,  and I didn’t see why I should be feeling that feeling all alone, so decided to drag you in there too.  And now that I’ve sent your brain into a spin, let’s get on with enjoying the day shall we?

So, to start with  … smile, even if you don’t feel like it.  S.M.I.L.E. …  and remember that even if the day is grey and you don’t feel like anything like happy …. just the act of smiling can trick your brain into sending out the feel good hormones which can turn your day around.  So stand up … go and stand in front of a mirror and smile your biggest cheesy smile at yourself for 30 seconds. 

Look into your eyes while you’re stood there grinning like a Cheshire cat – and although your cheeks might ache a little,  keep the smile going until either:  you crack and begin to laugh at yourself.  OR …  30 seconds is up.  Then go off and do something to get your day kicking and alive.  (And if you feel miserable at all any time today – do the smile thing again.  30 seconds remember!).  Even if it only works for half an hour, that’s half an hour of feeling better that you would have missed if you hadn’t tried the smiling trick.

I’ve been trying to post these Christmas Cards since last week!  I haven’t been tardy or lazy, I’m fighting an infection which is causing me the most dreadful pain on the right hand side of my back and partly in my tummy;  and it’s also affecting the skin on my back, making it feel as if the skin is burnt – like it’s been ironed with a hot iron, and it feels like it’s been sandpapered and should be red raw.  Just awful.  I’m now on my third (different) lot of antibiotics,  and if these latest ones don’t start making a difference within 24 hours,  I have to call my GP, and I think they may admit me to hospital so that they can plug me into the ‘powerful drug army’,  filling me up intravenously with infection fighting soldiers who will (hopefully) beat the infection to a pulp.  (I have my fingers crossed that these new antibiotics which they’ve given me, begin to work, so that I don’t have to go in, as I don’t like hospitals). 

Right, enough talking about rubbish stuff  …  let’s get these cards shared with you …

I wanted to make a few quick and easy cards for various people.  I have to send some through the post so wanted cards which will fit into an envelope and not have them damaged or bits knocked off them, so they had to be of few ‘adornments’, and flat enough to go into a regular envelope.  AND … just to add a bit of a challenge to the task, I wanted to make them from bits and pieces I’ve had left-over from projects I’ve made for Christmas cards of long ago.  So I went through my Christmas Box and by the time I’d finished I had a pile on my desk all the things which were left overs from previous Christmases.  Cor!  Did I have a lot of left overs! 

I found some card stock and bits of adornments from about 7 years ago (I think – but this is just a guess).  All of the following cards are made from those left overs.

Frost and Ice Christmas Tree.

This first card …. is made on a background of a rich, dark blue card on which is printed a music score, with the addition of some script writing.  I embossed around the outer edges of the card background to make it look more icy and wintery cold, using the silver embossing powders by Tonic. (This icy cold doesn’t show up in the photo, but in reality it actually does look really wintery and like looking through a window which you’d scratched off the ice so that you could look through it).

I added a length of [plastic] balls on a ‘string’ around the tree (and glued it in place on the back) then added some red gems to represent baubles on the tree.

 

I then mounted the decorated die cut Christmas Tree onto a square of printed velum using foam tape.  The addition of the greeting  ‘Merry Christmas’ finished the card off.

This next card was shamefully easy, but in real life looks far lovelier than in the photograph.

The card background is actually white with a sort of shimmery silvery white patterning all over it.  If you hold it one way, then you see everything as white.  But if you hold it another way, you can clearly see the patterns on the cardstock.  It’s really beautiful, and so tactile too!

I added tiny red gems to the die cut wreath and a die-cut bow – mounted on foam dots, to give it depth, then fixed the decorated wreath to the cardstock using foam tape, and Voila!  Card 2 done and dusted.

Card 3 was made using the same cardstock as card 1 – the deep dark blue, with the musical score printed on it.  Two die cut snowflakes adorn this card.  One large, and one small,  along with a length of silvery balls, onto which I threaded a silver bead, and glued it in place on the length of silver balls using Tonic Glue.  Whilst that was drying I fixed the largest of the snowflakes in place …

…  and added three little red gems to the middle of it, to give the card a nod of a third colour.

Then added the second, smaller snowflake, which was die cut from holographic card, and twinkled like crazy.  I added a little clear gem to the middle of this snowflake, to give it an added dimension.

Finished the card off with the ‘Merry Christmas‘ greeting and this was then Card number 3 ticked off the list.

The fourth card …  I love this background!  All those fabulous little Christmas Trees, with the great big star on the top, complete with the baubles.  Love it!

Using a rule, I drew lines with a thicker nibbed embossing pen all around the card, and using Tonic Silver embossing powder, I embossed those lines.

Then taking a square of velum, I embossed the edges of the card with a frosty looking Dtsilver Embossing Powder and then did the same thing on the edges of a die cut and embossed Christmas Tree.

Using foam tape, I mounted the tree onto the velum, and fixed the velum and tree to the cardstock.  I wanted a silver star for the top of the tree, but sadly couldn’t find one big enough,  in the end I chose this lovely blue pearly star, which looks slightly different in colour in the photos, but it’s nearer in colour to the blues in the card background.

And that was card 4 ticked off the list!  Now onto card 5 …

For this final card, I chose to make another snowflake card, but this time on a different background, and with a more complicated snowflake as the main attraction.

I’ve tried to capture the various layers of this snowflake but have failed miserably.  Because it’s cut from holographic paper and card, it twinkles madly, and I’ve tried taking photographs with the flash, without the flash, with the spotlights, without them, with and without a desk lamp and all sorts of combinations, I couldn’t find the right one to show you all the layers, so I’m afraid you’ll  just have to imagine them showing up – for they are there in that photo above!

And that, was a big tick against quick and simple card number 5.

Normal service of cards which need a box or a security guard, will be resumed as soon as possible – dependant upon how this darned infection behaves on these new drugs.  Hopefully I’ll be up and running at a more reasonable speed on Friday, when we have the regular ‘Things I’ve Learned This Week‘ post, where I share with you the stuff life has taught me during the last seven days.  (I already have a list made,  and I think you might enjoy this list …  and get a few laughs out of it at the same time).

In the meantime …  do me a great big favour and spread a little joy about your home and your neighbourhood.  Do something lovely which will make someone else smile.

How about using a piece of chalk and leaving little messages on the pavement (sidewalk) for other people to see, read, and smile about.  What would you say?  How about “Hello!” for starters?  Or: “You have a beautiful smile“,  or maybe  “Hello Beautiful!“.  Just say something you know would tickle you if you saw it chalked on the pavement.

Or .. maybe make someone’s birthday extra special …  don’t buy them flowers or chocolates, buy them something they may never have received before … balloons!  A bunch of  Helium balloons, chosen just for them, by you, and either deliver them yourself or have them delivered if you can’t get to them.  They’re a reminder of childhood, and seem to make everyone smile.  So give it a try.  (Even if it’s not their birthday … if you want to make them smile, then send them a bunch of helium balloons.  It will make their day!)

And . . .  for you;   I wish you a thoroughly tip-top Thursday!  May the day bring you smiles and at the end of your day, may you look back over the hours and realise that you’ve had a really O.K. kind of day, in a thoroughly good way.  May you have found something wonderful to smile about today.

Be careful out there … oh ….  and ….  be good to each other.

love and squidges ~

 

Things I’ve Learned This Week!

Happy Friday all. We’ve survived another week!

But .. I seemed to wake on Monday morning and by the time I’d showered, got dressed and done my hair, it was Friday!  Someone is stealing time and I’m going on a mission to find the beastly boy who’s doing this!  (It’s a boy.  I know it’s a boy.  Don’t ask me how, I just feel it,  and I know it’s a boy).

Shall we dive into my diary and find out what I’ve learned and am wiser because of, this week?  Seat belts on, I’m unlocking the fancy lock on the cover of my diary ...ready?  …. in we go   . . .

I learned this week  . . .  that I have too many clothes and I don’t wear half of them. Now just stop and think about what I’ve just said.  Chaps … this is a gal talking and she’s just said she’s got too many clothes.  Yup, you read it right.  Girls …  I’ve just told all your men that a girl can have too many clothes.  When your man points this out to you remember to say:  “Yes but that’s Cobs, and her husband is a millionaire.”  I’m only giving you that ‘get out clause’  so that you don’t hate me for telling the chaps that I have too many clothes.  (N.B.  Mr.Cobs isn’t a millionaire.  I have access to his wallet, his pockets, our bank account is joint,  and … I’ve had up every floorboard in this place and found nothing.  Definitely NOT a millionaire.)

I’ve learned this week  that there is only one particular Christmas Advertising Video this year which makes me cry.

Here in the UK  (from mid November’ish’)  various different (big) companies release their Christmas videos and it’s become a bit of a thing to try to out-do the other companies for the best video.  Normally, it’s John Lewis who win hands down.  They make some really magical Christmas videos which melt my (and an awful lot of others) hearts.  However this year, their video just makes me howl with laughter and joy.

BUT …  there is one video which seems to (at the moment) have passed by unnoticed by some folks here, but for me, it’s the one which turns me into a big girly wreck, crying, sniffing, dabbing with a tissue and wanting to watch it again – even though I know it will make me cry all over again.  (I’ve so far watched it six times, and after each one, I’ve cried like a baby).  I have to share this one with you.  Guys might not ‘get it’ … but I’m pretty certain that most ladies will….  –   it’s only just over a minute long  (and totally child safe in case you have one of those in the room with you)  …

So…  are you crying?  Did it make you cry? ….  Almost cry?  …  Not cry at all???

I’ve also learned this week .…  that some Craft Companies expect their customer to be clairvoyant when they don’t send you an item which is clearly shown on a delivery note, which they’ve enclosed in the parcel along with all the other items you ordered at the same time.

Customers are apparently expected to automatically know  that because these companies haven’t included *that* item in the parcel,  it’s not that they’ve forgotten to pack it in with the rest of the order,  but that they’re waiting for it to come back into stock.  And when you phone them up to tell them who you are, what the order number was, and which item it is which is missing,  their attitude is as if you should have known in the first place and you’re wasting their time by phoning.

This forces me to ask …  EXACTLY  HOW  DIFFICULT  IS  IT –  to simply write on the delivery note:  “To Follow” or words to that effect?

CRAFT COMPANIES  take note:  …  I’m going to begin naming and praising very soon, the companies which I’ve shopped at, or with,  which have given me good or excellent service.

BUT   I’m also going to begin naming and shaming  those companies who need to pull their socks up;  buck up their act;  or generally  GET WITH THE PROGRAMME!

Give good service, get more custom.  Give poor service, customers will shop elsewhere. It’s as simple as that.

Crafters chat to other crafters,  face to face, social media or on their Blogs,  and they share their experiences with and of particular companies.  Don’t lose out on free advertising by giving crafters bad service.

I’ve also learned this week …  That a crafter shouldn’t ever think that they’re great at something just because they’ve been doing it for a while. Even crafters who have been crafting for longer than they care to admit to being alive,  can still be the complete opposite of a genius  and burn her fingers on the bally heat gun;  cover herself in ink which won’t wash off and makes her hands and nails look like she’s a potato farmer with no shovel;   and moves things around in her craft room to make it easier for herself,  then can’t find the blasted things she’s moved when she needs them a day after she moved the blasted things in the first &£%*>^  place!!!

And that same Crafter can suddenly remember at 10pm one night that she needs a particular type of card for the following day,  then frantically goes through everything she has in her craft room trying to find inspiration and at 11.20pm finally gives up, telling herself she’ll look in the morning,   knowing all the time that she may as well just go to the shop and buy whatever they have  because she’s obviously a simpleton with a noodle for a brain and she’ll never be able to make anything ever again so she might as well sell all her equipment in her craft room right now damn it and be done with it!

…… clunk.  screeeeeech.  clunk.  [sound soapbox being put away]

I’ve also learned  that people are some of the nicest things God invented.

When you give people a reason to be lovely, they will (more often than not), be lovely.  When you give them a reason to care, they will (more often than not) care.  When you show them a need which you have to get them involved in praying for someone they maybe have never met before, don’t know and haven’t even heard of that particular persons blog before …  These people will see that their own prayer or ‘wish’ or hope,  could be the one that makes the difference and will pray, or wish, or hope and push that feeling out into the ether.  And they’ll show their support by leaving a few words for that person to read so that they see that they’re not alone.  People care.  People care enough to make an effort for a person they don’t even know.  People care enough to try.  People are hoping. Wishing.  Praying,  for a positive outcome.

I hope it’s ok for me to let you know, and I don’t think that she’ll mind me sharing with you   ….  I had a very short email chat with Michelle today and she said: …  “the outpouring of love and support meant so much, and came at perhaps my lowest point”.

Thank you to those wonderful people who left her a message of support,  who prayed,  who wished,  and/or hoped.  Each and every one of you made a difference.  Sometimes, just knowing that people are rooting for you, praying for you, wishing you well … or are just on your side, is all it takes to give someone the strength to keep on keeping on.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading and doing what you did.  (If you left a message for her on her blog and it hasn’t appeared yet, it isn’t that you’ve been forgotten, things are getting done as and when they can be, as you would expect).  

But from me,   many, many thanks xxx  Bless you all. How brilliant you are.  I love you. 

And … finally…

Since I always try to leave you with something funny to smile about …. 

I mentioned a few paragraphs ago about the John Lewis Christmas Video for this year which makes me laugh ….  I share it with you here  (don’t fret, it’s only a little over two minutes long – and again, totally child safe)

 

…..  and in case that wasn’t quite enough . . .

And a few silly but funnies …  ….

Q: Why can’t you give Elsa a balloon?

A: Because she will . . . Let it go.  Let it go.

Q: Who earns a living driving their customers away?

A: A taxi driver

Q: Where do bees go to the bathroom?

A: At the BP station!

Q: What do you call security guards working outside Samsung shops?

A: Guardians of the Galaxy.

Q: What do you get from a pampered cow?

A: Spoiled milk.

Q: What do you call a belt with a watch on it?

A: A complete waist of time

Well, that’s me done and dusted.  I’ve fessed up, taught you what life and taught me, and given you some jokes to make you smile.  Yes, the oldies are the besties.

Have a truly wonderful Friday, whatever you’re doing.  May the wind blow a little softly, if it has to blow at all.  May the rain be gentle, if it has to rain.  And may your day be filled with happiness and smiles, dotted throughout the hours.   Be kind to someone today.  Say something nice.  Admire their shoes.  Like their hair.  Tell them they’ve lost weight (even if they haven’t – insist that you think they have, just a little).  Let’s do it to them before they do it to us.  (be kind that is).

See you next time.  In the meantime,  I’m sending squidges,  to you there in your corner,  from me here in mine.

Craft Living with Anne and Malcolm

Some of you may be familiar with a website which has some great photographs taken from catalogues, to which they put their own spin on what you’re looking at and end up with  the funniest things which make me hoot with laughter.

Well, I have a confession …  when I look at pictures craft rooms, on the inter webby, I have that same thing go on inside my head.  I will fall in love with craft rooms, and gaze at them longingly – wishing that my craft room was *that* big, or *that* colour or *that* clean – but I know it’s never going to happen.  However .. after I’ve fallen in lurve with the craft room … I will then spot a little something which begins to tickle me.  From that tickle comes a bubbling feeling, like fizzing champagne bubbles going crazy around my solar plexus, and from that point on, all heck breaks loose and the laughter pops out.  Not normal laughing … noooo.. the type of laughing which has tears running down my face laughing.

So, since it’s Monday, and Monday can be …  very  ‘Mondayish’ … I thought we’d get the week off to a slightly better start than  ‘Mondayish’.   So team …  Get your chuckle muscles ready . . .   (I’ll start you off gently with just five pictures,  . . .  so that none of you break your chuckle muscle) …

  Crafters, Ladies and Gentlemen … May I introduce you to Malcolm and Anne.  (who exist solely inside my imagination and for the purpose of…) . . . .

THE COBWEB CATALOGUE  ~  of a Living  (in my imagination)  Crafter

    ❤

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Happy Monday!  I hope that your chuckle muscle is in good repair, and that you’ve just given it a little work out.  Hopefully there will be more to smile about in your coming week.

Have a truly beautiful day my friends.  Let’s do it to them before they do it to us. (be kind that is).

Sending much love to you there in your corner, from me in mine. 

I spy with my little eye: a Chat Noir upon a Mer de Bleu!

Did you ‘get’ it?  Did you?  eh?  If you didn’t then it’s probably because you don’t remember the school  lessons in basic French.  Don’t worry, you’re not alone,  … I don’t remember that much about those lessons either.  Although I do remember:  ‘La plume de ma tante est dans le jardin’.  What a useless bit of French was that?  How on earth was I going to use that in every day talking?  My aunt would never have left her pen in the garden, because if she had, one of her three children would have squirreled it away and produced it in a quiet moment when she wasn’t looking, and the hall walls were ready for a hand drawn masterpiece on them.

I’m really honoured, very flattered, and, I admit, a little bit embarrassed, about receiving 3 awards in 3 weeks.  And I’m so sorry if I’m boring everyone to pieces with little snippets of ‘me’ all over the place, but I promise that this is the final of the three awards, – so after this you’ll be so full of ‘Cobs’ you won’t want to hear from me for weeks-on-end until you’ve finally filtered all the ‘Cobs’ through your system, past your kidneys and … well  you know how your internal system works,  so we’ll leave it right there shall we?  [nod & a wink].

A blogger who I just adore,  The Chicken Grandma  nominated me for the Black Cat Blue Sea award.  I apparently one of the people who, she said (and I quote)  “made me think, they have made me laugh out loud, they have inspired me but most of all they have made me wish I could meet them in person”  …  Now I have to say that she might have been suffering a moment of ‘delusion’ when it came to nominating me, but she can’t take it away now ’cause I have it in writing!  [nods firmly as if to seal the deal].  Thank you Chicken for honouring me in this way.  Bless your beautiful heart.

Anyhoo .. the rules are as follows:

Ok .. that seems simple enough, even for a person of little brain and bad headache like me.  We’ll begin with the questions that The Chicken Grandma asked me to answer:

1. How do you find your inspiration for a blog post?

Well, the obvious answer is my crafting.  Whatever I make will inspire the blog post.  However … I don’t just blog about crafts, so, in truth, it’s my life which gives me the inspiration.  Things happen, good and not so good, and when they happen I tend to try to look for the either the silver lining, or the humour in the situation, and from that comes the inspiration.  I love fun.  Not to the exclusion of anything else you understand.  But I love the fun which lightens the days.  Fun which is harmless to anyone else.  You’ll never find me having fun at someone elses expense for example.  If there is to be someone who is the brunt of my fun then it’s me.  But I’m in my element when I can share the fun with someone else.  I have a little handful of bloggers (yes YOU know who YOU are) who have that same little streak of naughtiness running through them.  A kind of gentle rascal naughtiness.  Something like two girls giggling in the corner of the playground, and no one really knows what they’re giggling about, but everyone DOES know that it’s totally harmless, not offensive or rude and just simply two minds going on a carnival ride together.

2. What do you enjoy most about where you call home?

Oh, well that ones easy! ...  Mr Cobs, my dog, my cats, my rabbit, and my chickens are all there.  Oh … and my craft room is in the garden.  umm…  Did I mention my craft room?   Or as my friend calls it:  The ‘executive art annexe’.  (Posh friend with just a hint of crazy and an extremely large dash of fun. lol).

3. What is your favourite thing to do?

Oh heck … I have lots of things I love to do .. but I have to tie it down to one … lemme think for a moment …..  hmm..  It seems to be the simple pleasures that I enjoy the most – so I’ll choose ….. Visiting the sea.  The sea is just a few minutes away from our home, and I love to visit just to sit and look and watch it.  To feel it’s power and yet it’s gentleness.  The sound of the sea is a music like no other.

Sitting with the sea cleanses my mind and my soul and seems to slow down my pulse and heart rate.  It allows me to stop thinking and instead, let another power take control.

Right – that’s the questions answered,  …. now I need to name 7 blogs I want to pass this award onto, and set them three questions of my own … here goes…

Gail at Truly Jewellery and Crafts

Sarah at The Handmade Card Blog

My Paper Rose Garden

Paintbox Mum

Imagine Blog

Puddle Side Musings

Linda Simpson Crafty Piece of Heaven

And my  3  questions for these people to answer are as follows:

1. If you won a prize for a crafty item or craft related ‘goody’ … what would you really want that prize to be … and why?
2. If you were asked to demonstrate how you made a particular thing … for one of the main Craft channels on TV … would you say yes? and .. what item would you demonstrate that you’ve already made?  (Give us all a link to that too, so that we can share the enjoyment).
3. You’re going to be stranded on an island all by yourself, for one week.  What 5   (only FIVE)  crafty items would you take with you?  Or ... would you take none and just enjoy the total peace and quiet?

And that, as they say, is all there is to it.  BUT … if any of the people I’ve named for nomination of this award choose not to accept the award then that’s absolutely fine and groovy.  No one is under any obligation to accept the award or to answer the questions.

Thank you again to my fabulous Chicken Grandma for nominating me for this award. I’m honoured, and so blessed to know her.  Please go and check out her blog (see the link towards the head of this post), and get to know her.  She’s an absolute delight and makes me smile so very much.  Her blog posts are such an enjoyment to read.  Go check her out.

Well today is Monday… So let’s get this week off to a great start, shall we?  Could you, do you think, do just one act of random kindness today?  Could you perhaps buy a little bunch of flowers and give them to a neighbour, just to make them smile?  Perhaps give a sweet card to someone to bring cheer into their life?  How about making a cake for someone?  Or even buying a pack of biscuits?  One of my most favourite things to do where I used to live was something I called  ‘Get your neighbour fat day’ … while out shopping I’d buy a couple of cakes from the bakery department and have them packed singularly so that I could take one to one of my lady neighbours, and the other cake to another.  I’d sometimes stand on their doorstep singing:  “A very happy UnBirthday to you . . . “ (from Alice in Wonderland).  Which made them hoot.

Go on, give it a go.  Do a random act of kindness for someone.  You don’t have to spend any money if you can’t…  you could pray for the next person who passes you in the street.  Or you could simply share a smile.  Sometimes it takes the smallest act of kindness to change a persons day,  or even their whole life.

You really are the greatest bunch of folks, y’know, and if I could give you one thing in life it would be to see yourself through my eyes.  Only then would you know how incredibly special you are to me.

So .. come on Team!   Let’s do it to them before they do it to us!  (a kindness that is).

Sending you a wish for a truly magnificent Monday.

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The falling leaves drift by my window The falling leaves of red and gold . . .

Well, actually, they’re red, gold, orange and brown .. but I couldn’t think of a song that mentioned all those colours.

I don’t normally do multiple cards at once unless it’s Christmas, but I made these two cards on Saturday  . . .  well now that’s not entirely true.   I almost made two …  but I still had to decide what to do with the pure white card background behind the little girl with the umbrella.   Pure white just didn’t cut it.  So in the end I put in a pale, watery blue sky, and then below it I made it look like that fine, murky, misty, spray, wet you right through rain, so that it would suggest that this really was brolly weather. (brolly – a kind of shortening of word in the UK for Umbrella).

The papers used are all from Craftwork Cards.  I think it’s their Rose Heritage Range, if I remember correctly.  (It’s in my craftroom and I don’t want to make the trip across the decking, in the cold, and in my jammies – because the motion sensor lights will come on and that makes me feel like the last act of the night, [X-Factor?] … and like I should do a song, a dance and a bit of tap just to impress the judges.  It’s pretty paper and in a great variety of prints – which all ‘go’ together well.

The little girl is a stamped image, onto the white Stamping Card (by Clever Cut – aka Stamps Away), then stamped again onto the blue rosy paper and again onto the pink rosey paper.  Her hat and coat are cut from the blue paper.  Her boots and umbrella are cut from the pink paper.  Her scarf is something I added (it wasn’t part of the stamped image) as it kind of added a little movement to the image.

I added a little blue ric-rac ribbon and finished it off with a decorative frame of pink gingham.  (These can be found at The Works (UK only store) – in various sizes and shapes, all very cheaply – normally a pack of 6 totally different ones for around £1.  (sorry to folks outside the UK))

The second card is an Autumn card.  Although Autumn is meant to start at the beginning of September, (here in the UK)  but for me personally it doesn’t really feel like Autumn until October is here.  So when October the 1st arrived on Saturday my mind and heart was instantly switched on to Autumn.

I love the Autumn – the colours, the beautiful skies, the time to get out your warmer clothes and rake the leaves.  Children coming in from playing with little pink noses, as if they’d been pinched.  Hot drinking chocolate.  Snuggly, tucked in and that beautiful moment that it gets too cold in the house so you pop the heating on just to take the chill out of the air.  Yummy!

So … I made an Autumn card.  Not for anyone in particular, just because I wanted to.

The white scored and folded card is a gently hammered card in a lovely weight.  The dotty card is by Anna Marie Designs.  I stamped a ‘naked tree’ directly onto the card using memento ink pad and then stamped different leaves in different colours onto white stamping card, and then cut all the leaves out and coloured them in different colours.  I added just a few stamped leaves directly to the tree, just to give it a little depth.  The leaves were adhered to the tree using tiny double-sided sticky foam mounts, and I kept four stamped leaf images to one side so that I could use them as a pile of leaves …with one leaf being swept up and away by a gust of wind.

At this point, although I liked the card, it was missing a bit of the magic of Autumn, so I got my selection of WOW glitters out and chose three different colours.  An orange, a brown and a gold, and, using a glue pen with a fine nib, I added the various colours of glitters where I felt they should be.

The sentiment which I stamped onto the card is paler than I would normally have stamped it, but I wanted the tree to be the main event, so stamped the words, which read: Autumn…  the year’s last loveliest smile – in a soft brown.

Both of these cards were based on two cards I’d seen in a magazine quite some time ago.  I loved the originals and kind of stored them to memory.  They popped back into my head last week as I began to think about Autumn, so I scribbled myself a ‘post it note’ and stuck it to my big glass mat on my desk, to remind me to make them at the weekend.  I LOVE post it notes.  I don’t think I would I’d remember anything if it weren’t for post it notes!

So .. we have a new week and a new month  …  not only do I wish you a Happy Monday, I also wish you a Happy October.

Here are some facts about October that you might not know …

• The Anglo-Saxons called October Winterfylleth, meaning the ‘fullness’ of winter.
• The Welsh for October is Hydref (originally Hyddfref), a word signifying the lowing of cattle.
• The ‘October Revolution’ in Russia in 1917 took place in November, but at the time Russians had not yet changed from the Julian calendar.
• The Hunt For Red October, with Sean Connery, is the only film with ‘October’ in its title ever to win an Oscar (for best sound editing).
• More US presidents have been born in October than in any other month.

• October in the UK is the Awareness Month for Lupus, breast cancer, national cyber security and domestic violence.

• On 1 October 1982, the world’s first CD (Compact Disc) player went on sale. It was developed jointly by Sony, Philips and Polygram.

• In the US, October is National Pizza Month, Popcorn Month, Pork Month and Sausage Month.

• October is not mentioned in any Shakespeare play or sonnet.

• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869, in Porbander in western India.
• On 3 October 1906 the ‘SOS’ signal was established as an International Distress Signal by an agreement made between the British Marconi Society and the German Telefunk organisation at the Berlin Radio Conference. The signal was formally introduced on 1 July 1908.
• Also on the 3rd October,  in 1990 :  East and West Germany re-united and became one country.

I hope that October came into your home gently, and that as each day of this month comes along, it’s filled with little moments of happiness.

As Anne of Greengables (Anne Shirley)  said:  I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.  And I am.  October is one of my favourite colours.

Thank you so much for coming and having a coffee with me.

Sending you love and an October sort of squidge, from me, to you.  ~

How Versatile am I? I wonder . . .

I was thrilled down to my boots a few days ago to be nominated for another award, this time The Versatile Blogger award!  I’m Versatile?  WOW!  Who knew?!

I was nominated by the wonderful Mrs. Craft – who’s blog you can find by clicking on her name.  Thank you SO much Mrs. Craft.  I’m honoured that you thought of me and nominated me.  I hope I do you proud and live up to your expectations.

To accept the award I have to tell you 7 facts about me.  Prepare yourself to be bored:

1. I’m not just one  age.  I’m three.  I’m the age you can work me out to be using my birth certificate (a bit younger than dirt);  . . .   I’m the age I never actually progressed past (around 27);   . . . and I’m the age of my inner child – which is around 7/8 years old.
2. I am a  100%  believer in the words which are painted on a wooden sign which hangs outside my bedroom door – hung there so that it’s one of the first things I see every single morning.  It reads:  DO  SOMETHING  YOU  LOVE  EVERYDAY.   And I really do make sure I do!
3. I’m ABSOLUTELY NO GOOD, NOT EVEN IF MY LIFE DEPENDED UPON IT …  at building ANYTHING with Lego bricks.  My Grandson, Little Cobs, will bring his Lego box from out of his bedroom here in Grammy and Grandad’s home, open it, and then bring  a specially selected assortment of bricks to me, with the instruction for me to build something incredible.  He knows now that he’s on to a loser.  I’m more than useless at this task.  But I think he continues to bring me bricks in the hope of eventually making a silk purse out of a sows ear in Lego terms.
4. I have never managed to keep a potted plant alive for more than (roughly) around three weeks(ish).  I’ve tried really hard but I just can’t do it.  I either over-water them and drown the poor darlings.  Or I don’t water them enough and they just give up the will to live.
5. I look ridiculous in hats.  But I love light weight scarves, pashminas and shawls and have a collection/selection of them.
6. I love nail varnish and have jars and jars of it  …   but I can only eat a small jar a day.  (tut tut – be serious Cobs! ….) …  Although I adore painted finger-nails, I rarely have them because I craft, and because of that I more often than not, end up peeling away the beautifully applied nail varnish with the blob of glue which has dried on my nails, or the double-sided adhesive strip which stuck to my nails.  [sigh]  But I rather like painted toe nails.  My feet ‘flirt’ when the toe nails are painted.  I’m rather sad that the end of summer has come because I’ll have to change my favourite summer nail colours to something more in keeping with the season.
7. I ADORE period costume dramas on TV …  and am totally enthralled with ‘Victoria‘ (about Queen Victoria) written by Daisy Goodwin (such a good writer) which is currently on TV here in the UK.  (sorry if you’re outside the UK, but watch out for it coming to your country and give it a go – for at least two episodes – so that you get a feel for it)

 

Are you still awake at the back there?

Finally ..

I have to nominate 10 blogs who, in my opinion, are versatile and a darn good read.  This was easy.  There are so many blogs which I adore reading, I just had to narrow it down to ten.  (That was the difficult bit).

Aunt Beulah

Craft and other Crazy Plans

The Frugal Crafter

Puddle Side Musings

Imagine Crafts Blog

A Rottweiler at the Cottage on the Green

The Rabbit Patch

What I’m up to Today

The Handmade Card Blog

In order to accept and display the award the award on your blog, you have a little bunch of things to do.  The instructions for these were passed on to me. Those are:

• You have to thank the person who nominated you and place a link to their blog on your own blog, so that people can kind of track the award and see where it first came from.
• You also have to name 10 Blogs (and give links to those blogs) who are versatile and interesting. (If you have trouble naming 10 then name as many up to ten, as possible).

 

• If you are one of the bloggers named as being one I’ve nominated, please know …  if you feel that you’d really rather not take part in this nomination, then you have no obligation to do so.  You can simply choose not to accept the award and so not have to share 7 facts about yourself, nor nominate other bloggers who you yourself follow, for this award.

Well look at that …  TWO AWARDS IN ONE WEEK!  Shall I let you into a little secret . . .  I’ve been nominated for another one!  –GASP!–  I know!   It’s like waiting for a bus…  nothing comes, and it’s pouring down with rain, freezing cold, you have a headache and your feet ache in those shoes … then suddenly … THREE TURN UP AT ONCE!

I am such a lucky girl, and I thank each person for nominating The Cobweborium Emporium blog.  It’s such a great honour for someone to think about nominating our blog here.  What I think I like most about being nominated for an award for our blog here is that I get the chance to share blogs I follow and show you what others are doing, by nominating their blogs.

Please, do click on the names I’ve listed (they’re all clickable links which will open in another tab) and check them out, and maybe ‘like’ their posts and even leave a kind comment – let’s share all the love we have here all over blog land!

Have a truly blessed Thursday, whatever you’re doing.  Just  . . .  remember to stop and make a memory today.

Sending love to all ~

 

 

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We Have A WINNER!

A few days ago I posted about a card I’d made (see photo below) and thought we could have a bit of fun with it by doing a ‘give away’ of that actual card.  If anyone wanted to join in all they had to do was to comment with the word  GIVEAWAY  in their comment, and I’d include them as being one of the people who might like to be the owner of this card.

A couple of folks didn’t quite use the word (‘GIVEAWAY’) … but they said they wanted to be included, and since this is only a bit of fun and the first time I’ve ever done this, and added to that … it’s just a card and not a million pound lottery win, I thought I’d not be a stickler to the letter, so in all, we had 5 people say they wanted to be included.

I gave each of those people a number:

1. BCParkinson
2. rabbitpatchdiary
3. paperpuff
4. florence
5. soozyb (soozyb – I can’t add your name as a link as I can’t find a link to your blog.  If you have one, could you post the address for it, and I’ll turn your name into a link so that visitors could come and check your own blog out and who knows … you might gain some more followers!)

And then  … I went to the Random Number Generator website and asked it to pick me a number and this is the screen shot of the number it picked:

If you can’t read that number in the wee box over to the right there…. here’s a bigger screen print of just that box … only larger:

The result was… [drumroll]  number 1…  which means that the card goes to BCParkinson.

Congratulations BCP … I’m thrilled for you … and Edna Chicken sends her regards. (lol).  I’ll contact you and let you know about sending me your snail mail address so that I can send this to you.

I’ve so enjoyed this bit of fun.  Maybe we could do it again another time?  What d’you think?

Thank you all for playing along.  I love you to pieces for joining in the bit of fun.

Love and wriggly stuff ~

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Things I’ve learned this week …

Welcome to Cobs weekly confessional about the things I’ve learned this week.. I’m going to dive straight in . . .

I’ve learned (for the millionth time) that I just am not good in hot weather.  I get terse and grumpy.

Hello God, … it’s me again.  I’m here asking for the same thing.  Could you please turn down the heat?  You know that hot weather just makes me grumpy and miserable, so please could you turn down the heat – even just a few degrees would be welcomed.  Thank you ~ Cobs. x

This week I’ve learned that there are some projects that just don’t photograph well, and because of that I can’t blog about them until I learn how to go about getting a decent photo.  [big – s.i.g.h]

I’ve been playing with some mediums which are new to me,  learning and testing them out to see how they perform and what works with them (and what doesn’t).  These products are:  Buff it, by Pinflair;  and Brusho.

Brusho = little pots of amazing Water Colour Ink Crystals (little pots of powders to you and I) which can be used in loads of different ways.

You can sprinkle a very SMALL amount onto some watercolour paper and spraying it with a fine mist spray of water.

watercolour Brusho crystals sprinkled then sprayed

You can either then just leave it to do its own thing, or you can move it around by the use of a paintbrush or even picking it up and tipping the paper to make the colours run the way you want them to.

Wet water-colour paper, sprinkled with brusho’s then dragged across the card.  The sentiment actually says: Live Every Moment. Laugh Every Day.  Love Beyond Words.  (but I stamped it in the wrong place and you can’t read the final line.  But since these are only ‘playing’ it really didn’t matter.)

You can paint with the Brusho – and the colours are wonderful!  Again, you only need to use the tiniest amount. If you add a little to some water, in a spray bottle, you can then use it as a colour spray and add a spray of droplets to your project.

Now onto my second new crafting product..

Buff It is like the most incredible wax that you’ve ever seen  BUT … it’s NOT WAX!  I would guess that a greater majority of readers have a pot or two of wax which we use in our crafting.  But … the problem with these waxes is that they smell to high heff!  Coo do they stink.  It’s Paraffin.   However  Buff it doesn’t smell at all.  You could (if you were crazy) pour a whole tub of Buff it onto your project and still not have to fling the doors open in order to get fresh air so that you don’t collapse.  Again, this is another product which you only need a tiny amount of.

You can use it ‘as is’ … or you can add a little water to it.  A LITTLE water.  It dries quickly – so remember to take out what you need, then close the lid!  Work a little quickly with it, but if it dries out too quickly you can use a fine mister spray and add just a tiny bit of water, and it’s ready to go again!

Brusho and Buff it used together.  That’s the most incredible Gold colour not sunflower yellow as it looks in this photo.  I so wish I could have got a better photo.  Mr. Cobs saw this at this stage in the making and (in his words):  Wow, it looks like the Cosmos!  And I have to agree that when you see it with the naked eye, it actually does!

 

But … some of the projects I tried with these two wonderful craft magicals, just don’t show the real beauty which you can achieve with the products.  You can ‘see the things’ … but the camera just doesn’t pick up the magic.

Moving on …  Question for you:  When is a Sapphire not a Sapphire?  ……. [I’ll let you think about that one for a moment] ……

….. [still thinking?  —  Ready to give in?  …  ok, read on] . . .

I’ve learnt that . . . Sapphires and Rubies  . . .   are  . . .   the  same  Gem!

I know!  Surprised me, I’m telling you! 

Collectively Sapphires and Rubies are known as Corundum.  Their only difference is their colour!

Also … Sapphires don’t just come in blue.  Natural Sapphires can be found in pink,  white,  yellow,  green,  orange,  brown,  cognac,  black and purple!  (Did you know that you could get Sapphires in all these colours? It was a real eye opener to me.)  BUT …  Not only that …

Very rarely but . . . Sapphires can change colour.  Colour Change Sapphires will typically  be blue to violet in daylight, but will look purple to red indoors.

And a RARE PHENOMENON found in Sapphires is asterism.  This is where a gemstone exhibits special optical phenomena.  A six (or very rarely a twelve) pointed star will appear on the surface of the gem, that will move as the stone moves in the light.

And finally … 

I’ve learned this week …. that you don’t have to be using paper to get a paper cut, and neither do you need to be in your craft room!

Out shopping I wanted to feel the softness of a bathroom ‘rug’ (a mat for when you clamber out of the shower) – so with finger and thumb I kind of ‘pinched’ the mat so that I could get a feel for it.  But …  (be honest, you knew there was a ‘but’ didn’t you) …  in ‘pinching’ the bathroom mat, I lifted my other fingers out-of-the-way.  Now that seems like a safe enough thing to do doesn’t it?  [shakes head]  nope.  It most certainly isn’t!

The bathroom mat had a large piece of folded card over the top of it,  where a hanger was for hanging the mat up for display purposes.  In feeling the rug/mat,  I caught my middle finger (left hand) on the really thick card, and instantly felt the pain.  I looked down at my finger to see a gash with blood gently pumping out of it.

Now  come on!  Who would have thought that you could get a right ol’ paper cut from thick and chunky piece of card??  I could not believe it.

Mr. Cobs didn’t, in my opinion, take this injury at all seriously.  Do you know what he did when I showed him my life threatening injury?   He peered at my bloodied finger, pursed his lips, looked at me, made a ‘huhm’ sound, turned to walk off and as he did so he said:  “Well you won’t be doing that again, will you!”

I stopped in my tracks,  mouth agape, eyes as wide as saucers, … I called after him:  “You do know that you can be replaced, don’t you?” …  he ignored me totally, and  from the shaking of his shoulders  I could tell he was laughing at me.  The cheek of the man!

The thing is …  he knows I won’t ‘replace’ him because,  quite frankly,  I couldn’t bear to go through all that training again.  The man couldn’t boil an egg until I whipped him into shape.  He can now cook a complete Christmas dinner with very little input from me.  He’s amazing.  But look .. if you see him, please don’t tell him I said this because he’ll only get high with delight and strut around like a rooster in a hen-house!

Well that’s me done and dusted and now it’s over to you.  What have you learned this week?   Do share …  not because I’m nosey … but because … no…  actually … it’s because I’m nosey.  So do share what you’ve learned this week via a comment in the box below ….  and none of us will judge you.  We might laugh at you … or we might cry with you.  But we’ll certainly make you feel welcome.

Ohhhhh… I think The Lord may have heard my request because the rumbling of thunder can be heard.  Maybe he’s going to cool it down by watering his garden.  Oh my goodness  … BIG thunder and crashing lightning!   Ooo.. the lights have all dimmed, the TV has lost its signal ….  awww,  and the dog has come to sit on my feet as apparently I’m her best hope if something bad happens.  I’m going to get this post saved and posted before I lose the computer too!  eeek!

Wishing you a very happy Friday, and a wonderful weekend.  May your troubles be few and your happiness be high.

Oh ..  and …  be nice to each other.  Sending you squidges ~