Thursday 1 March 2018

Important nothings and SNOW!













Which of all my important nothings
shall I tell you first.

Jane Austen.






Its here - snow! it started in the early hours of this morning and it is set to keep going all day.  Sorry I am a little later today but I have been on patrol and lost all sense of time, waking up to run round all the windows....  Then sit with a warm drink and take in the sights of the snow starting to fall and whirl down.

It is bitterly cold and the ground is dry so it is settling.  I have waited months, well in point of fact years for the white stuff to arrive to our Dorset coastline.  The World is falling silent and there is not a bird in sight.  I have been feeding them up for this event and Squire Squirrel has been busy collecting his peanuts in their shell and taking them off to his home larder.  It will only be here a few days and its not Alaska but I am so excited.  I have been breaking ice off of the bird bath every morning - well lifting a huge circle of ice off the top and then putting in more warmish water.  I will keep making sure they have water and I have filled their bird table high with food ( it has a stylish roof so it should fare OK) the bird feeders are brimmed and I will later if I see any pop out some bacon bits as well.

Today for me is going to be a delicious snow day.  The fire is ready to light and the candles are ready as well.  There is a basket of slow stitching waiting along with some journals I have started so I can decide and do a little of both.  The throw is ready and so is my hot water bottle for my back.  There is a pot roast in the oven that I prepared yesterday so I have a full day to enjoy myself.  My husband is working from home so there is no worry of accidents with him involved in them and I can relax.

Firstly though I am going outside and taking photos.  Long awaited photos.  I am hoping by mid afternoon there will be enough for a snow angel and a few other shots.  I have waited for years and I am going to enjoy every single wee moment of it.

I have lots of slow stitching to do and catch up on but I can not seem to settle to it at the moment properly.  I am awaiting my boxes for my slow stitch kits, my printer has not finished my order but promised by Friday and I feel I have been twiddling my thumbs now for a few weeks.  It was all go on my part designing, meeting the printers and going through it all.  Pricing that part up.  Writing the instructions and stitching the first one of the kit .. as it is the only one I had from the printer to check it out.  It is a waiting game now and I have started to become impatient.

My personal slow stitching only gets about an hour or so a day as I felt I had stopped reading and it is important to me to read.  When I have been going to bed I have been too tired to pick up a book and I now have a little pile to read so I have decided to have a few hours of a early evening.  I suspect that
at the back of my mind is that my Mum has dementia and I now if you do not use it, you loose it ! So more reading every day is on the cards from here on in.  The beauty of slow stitching is just that - 'Slowly does it'  it is about enjoying it as well as achieving a beautiful piece of fabric art at the end of it.

We also have Mums Birthday but it now depends on the snow on Friday, we may postpone the lunch and family get together until next week.  My sister and I will still go over to her on Friday with her gifts, cards and cake and spend time with her but we will not drag her out in the cold.  It really depends on how much snow actually does fall.  

This weekend we have family staying with us and then next week we have our lovely friend from Devon coming for a few days.  Then he goes off to another friend for a few days and back to us the following week before he heads off once more to his cottage.

One thing is for sure we will sit by the fire and chat, laugh and stitch so lots will get done.  We catch up on each others lives and have the best time.  Unfortunately I think our snow will be gone by early next week but he will have it in Devon this week as well.  I am hoping for photographic evidence to
show him and keep for myself.

The other day I was looking through one of my books on quilting history and I read ( in America) that each young lady got to a certain age (16 ish) and they would have a 'quilting'.  This meant that family, neighbours and friends would each make a square for a quilt.  Then someone in the family ( a grandmother or mother) would piece it together and then invitations would go out to those who made squares to come and sit around a huge table and all chat and hand quilt.  The quilt would then go into her 'Hope' chest.  It was also a sign to the young men of the community that the young lady was ready for them to come a courting!  The Upper class community had the coming out balls of course but I think the quilting would have been great fun.  Also you ended up with a beautiful quilt made by the people who loved and cared for you and were part of your life.  What a wonderful future heirloom and filled with memories.

As I have been sat here writing this to you I keep looking out of the window and measuring in my mind how big the flakes are getting .. bigger flakes more coverage!!

Going back to my journal writing as you well know I am a firm believer in them.  I have a design journal and sketch journal with ideas in them.  Know I have a family history journal that I am writing up as well.  My notes are on my laptop and I have note books full of what I have searched and found or not found something.  Years going back on my fathers side of the family.  I would like it all in a journal and have chosen the beautiful leather Aspen one that my husband bought me a few years ago.  He was disappointed that I had not used it yet but as I told him I wanted it to me more that a sketch one so now it is for my family tree.  I have done some hand stamping in there with archival inks and have started writing what made me start my tree at only 15 years old and then how I found things etc.

Then I am going to list each generation starting with my Dads marriage to my Mum with my sister and I and our families.  Then my Dads parents and siblings then on back each family having their own page or two - depending on the amount of children.  My Grandfather was one of 14 children you see.

The other journal is a sort of junk journal as they call it but with my daily thoughts, hopes, dreams and schedules going in it and  I am having enormous fun decorating it as well.  These are future heirlooms for my family.  I worry with the email and text society there is not enough written word out there in someones own handwriting.  Now do not get me wrong without this kind of technology I would not be sat talking to all of you and it has a place for sure.  Social media where I have met all you lovely people and my pen friends too. However the history that I have seen to do with my family and there handwriting and signatures can not replace the typed word, the joy is over whelming so instead of just worrying or moaning about it I have decided to do something for my family.  If the do not want it then in a 100 years from now someone might find it in a junk shop and take it home and read and treasure my ramblings .... who knows!!

Another journal I want to do is my quotes, sayings and poetry  scribblings which is in a sort of large note book at the moment so I would like them all in some sort of order and written nicely in a proper journal.  So you see I am doing lots of writing at the moment as well.  

This afternoon by the fire I am going to start reading one of my 8 novels I have waiting for me that were Birthday and Christmas presents and enjoy looking up and out in our garden and watching the snow fall.  Fingers crossed it just keeps going today.  There will be some stitching and of course some shenanigans in the snow ...

I will be back here on Monday morning and hopefully I will have time to collate some snow photos for you all ....

Have a wonderful day and if you are in England reading this then stay warm and safe and enjoy our few days of fluffy stuff.

Happy Stitching! XX







6 comments:

  1. Snow has started here too, settling, I have fed the birds and decided what for lunch...... settling down to finish some knitting and then some slow stitching too and a good film on the television!

    Julie xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sounds perfect Julie, enjoy and stay safe I believe where you live is a red warning in place so best to stay in the warm.
      Take Care my lovely friend.
      Sarah xxxxxx

      Delete
  2. We’re still waiting for snow here in Gloucestershire although it is bitterly cold, as you say , a day by the fire.
    I agree wholeheartedly with you, we need to write more, I read somewhere that some children are unable to hold a pencil properly now! Take care,keep warm!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Morning Gill
      We are snowing ❄️ On and off here but it’s settling and we are amber alert for later.
      The flakes are bigger now and I am jumping up and down with glee’
      That is dreadful that young children are not able to hold a pencil properly.. that should start in the home!
      Keep warm and hope you get some snow, it’s so pretty.

      Sarah xx

      Delete
  3. Good morning from America. We are suppose to get 8 to 12 inches of snow after midnight through tomorrow but probably not lasting and then warmer weather.

    Enjoy the snow, the fire, the vintage, family and friends.❤❤❤❤

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Lora it’s been snowing all day and I am beyond excited and happy. Hubby worked from home today and found me in the garden making a snow angel 😇 had to be done! ❄️❄️❄️Xxxx

      Delete