I forget to pray for the angels, and then the angels forget to pray for us...

Happy Friday! (again date says thursday, but its Friday morning after midnight)

Do you ever get the feeling that you sometimes get a little helping hand from somewhere? Some may believe it is from Angels, some feel it is from God, others from the universe, or from the source... Others may believe that it is just from coincidence or chance.  I think anyone who knows me well enough by now, from reading my ramblings, will probably be pretty sure which side of the fence I am sitting on!  I feel that there is always someone or something looking out for you!

 A glimpse of one of my stitcheries with a handmade button, which I made from fimo clay. It is good fun making buttons!

Yup! I believe ( by choice and by experience too) that there are forces at work behind the scenes, which we can only imagine. I say choose, because, lets face it, it is so much more exciting that way. Well, to me it is! Also, through life I have had way too many experiences which to me have shown that there is more to it all than just what we can see in front of us with our two earthly eyes!

My title today comes from Leonard Cohen's wonderful song, So Long Marianne. ( I adore him!)  Some think him depressing. Not so, to me he writes the most deep and beautiful poetry and sets it to music. In fact, I see the humour in it, which many overlook. He is brilliant, and I am sad that I have not managed to see him in concert yet.

What do we do when, by whatever reason, we are given a helping hand from out of the blue? Well I know what I do! I say thank you! Out loud sometimes!  Just imagine for a moment, if the coincidences and the synchronisities of our lives were really, really, actually something else, something magical? Wouldn't it be rather rude of us not to say a big thanks? If we forget our Angels ( or the forces of nature, God, etc.) then they may just decide to take the day off!

 One of my Angel Angst stitchery designs.... Angels need some care and attention too!

It sometimes is an eerily strange experience that may happen, and we may feel a strong sense of wonder at how such a thing could be. On the other hand it could be much more subtle, and it would rely on us to be much more observant. For instance, as I am writing this, I stopped to pour myself a cup of tea, and the bubbles on the top of the tea formed an absolutely perfect heart! What a shame I didn't have my camera to hand to show you all! So I found this picture on the internet to illustrate my point!

In fact, Not long ago, when I was feeling a bit down, I seemed to see hearts all over the place!  Is it grasping at straws?  I don't 'feel' it is.  Some times we get signs.... When we were buying our home, I kept seeing things to do with owls, and everytime the sale was going well (it dragged on!) owls kept popping up. We thought we had lost it for the 3rd time, and I had all but resigned myself to forget the house all together. But, one night I dreamt about the large tree in the front garden.

 Mr. Owl Tree!

 In the dream it was in the park across the road from where we lived then, and it kept coming closer and closer. when It was very close, I could see about 6 owls sat in the tree looking at me! That is why our home is called Owl Tree Cottage! The next day, we got a viewer and then another offer and moved soon after.  Just another coincidence?

Yes I say thank you out loud, and I also salute magpies! Poor George, what does he live with? And speaking of magpies.........

Sometimes we may be helped by being given a warning. I am a little superstitious for some reason, when it comes to magpies, well why take a chance?! So I do salute them. I think one is unlucky (sorrow) , 2 for joy, etc.

So when I saw a single very dead magpie lying in the middle of my lawn, I was not feeling happy, it made me very unsettled. Put that together with a horrible dream which George, the next night,  had had about someone stabbing me in the chest (left side), I began to worry that something was afoot. Maybe that was why, shortly after a few more strange 'signs' (?), I examined myself thoroughly in the bath..... and found the lump in my left breast. Another coincidence? A series of events, which maybe in the singular I would have ignored, but in the plural pushed me to feel that something was amiss, that needed my urgent attention.

I could actually write pages on some very strange events and experiences... but thankfully for you all... I won't!

SO! That is why I always remember to say thank you. We don't like to be taken for granted after all, do we? 

This week I have been to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D......I loved it! Some have said that it is too dark a story, but lets face it, the original story was a dark tale, so this is a follow on from there with a Tim Burton treatment, which I thought has worked very well indeed..

I have been drawing again this week too, practising for a project, which I shall divulge at a later date, if it all goes well. A sudden and unexpected opportunty has arisen, and I have decided for once in my life, to not think, but just do! If I think, I will bolt off like a frightened rabbit! When I was made, they forgot to fill the confidence container! That, is why again, I have not attended to blogland as much as I would like too at the moment. Here is a practice doodle/ painted thingy (not related, just messing!) I often draw, but I haven't picked up a paint brush for a long, long time! So I rustily and gingerly had a quick dabble.  They are not finished yet either!

Kitty M at Dolliedaydreams is hosting a lovely cheery Easter giveaway. Please pop along to visit her!

Anyway folks, have a wonderful weekend and don't forget to shout out thank you very loudly if you feel like you have been helped in some way!

Love to you all Suzie xxx

The north wind doth blow and we shall have snow angels!

Hello everyone!

Old Man Winter is definitely taking hold this year, snow, snow and more snow! I love it of course, because it reminds me of my childhood in Canada.

 

One of my drawings, a little tatty I'm afraid!

It is beautiful, magical and does not happen too often in Lancashire, so I am enjoying it. Then again,  I do have the benefit of working from home, and so far the snow which is affecting many parts of the country badly, is not causing a great problem where I live, so luckily has not stopped me from doing anything as yet!  It just looks incredibly pretty! Jack frost has been a busy little man!

Isn't this gorgeous, I found it on the internet. It is not one of mine.... sadly!

Winter to many people is a bleak time,  the season where all seems dormant and, some may say... dead. The ground is frozen, autumns leaves lie moulding, leafless twigs and branches waver in the cold icy winds. Gardens appear so sad compared to their full and lush appearance in the summer months. Yes, it all looks a bit sad don't you think?   Nothing is happening out there at all. But wait, what is this?

Buds all over the place... waiting for the spring!

No, it is only slumbering, and as our bodies do when asleep, replenishing and preparing for the next adventure.  At each turn of a moment all is changing... ever moving, turning in endless circles, soon to be re-born again into what appears to resemble a replica of last years glory,  but yet completely different ... new leaves, fresh flowers.

A view of my home from halfway down the garden.

 Change is an inevitable and inescapable presence in all of our lives. We can not hide from it. I could sit in a room all day and refuse to come out, ignoring the world, and still change will manifest all around me and to me! Just like the seasons coming and going, just as our cells in our bodies are not the same ones that we used to have, we are constantly changing. This is scary, but fascinating at the same time.

Now, I am no spring chicken any more, and like the winter garden,  perhaps I look like I need some attention! Sometimes I am feeling quite ancient like my old Owl Tree! Wisdom to follow I hope!

However, I sometimes feel like I am swapping my ever disappearing youth with an ever growing mind and spirit. I am nurturing my creativity and zest for life into a bursting flower. This to me, is how winter is. Underneath and behind what appears to be a faded vista,  is a hive of activity and life, busy in preparation for a new refreshed world ready to burst out in the spring. Winter is a time of hidden miracles!

Winter fills me to the brim with excitement for the year to come... planning my garden, looking forward to watching it waken slowly from its wintery sleep, getting my home decorated and sorted out, and inventing new projects to craft and sew! Cosy times at home spent next to a roaring fire eating heart-warming stews. I love the changing of the seasons, and their constant reminder for me to accept gracefully the changes that life brings each day.

Time to enjoy our homes and cosy comforts! One of my cross stitch designs.

Life is a journey and an adventure, one which should be embraced, bad times as well as good. All of our joys, trials and tribulations are what make up our Auto-biographies. Wouldn't our books make rather boring reading if every day our lives just plodded on and on? Our books are more likely to be stuffed full with the richness of life... our sadnesses, success and failure, our loves, our work, talents...laughter and tears. Each day our individual history, unique and precious is constructed. Once a page is written, it is there for all time in our book for better or for worse.

One of my Angel Angst stitcheries! Hmmm, my halo has slipped on occasions too!

We may not always hold control of  every word printed onto the pages of our life-story but we can decide whether we are the hero or the villian, whether we wish to reflect on events with bitterness or with grace. In other words, how we wish to react to each of our pages. We do have that choice at least.

So my New Years resolution for 2010 is to write a new chapter, one which has had some thought put into it!
This chapter will be about making the most of each moment, being aware of  the hidden magic that is very much there even if we forget to look for it sometimes! I intend to laugh a lot and jump in puddles much more often! Whatever life throws!  One of my favourite sayings is "Life is a tragi-comedy..... and you are the star!"

What are your New Years resolutions? Tell me!

Before I wander off for another week, go and have a look at Theresa's fantastic  January Jubilee giveaway at Faerie Moon Creations! It is well worth a look believe me, this lady is so talented!

Well until next week I wish you all to be allocated at least one snowman or lady, and I hope that the weather is not causing you any headaches. Oh and don't forget, if you get the chance.... have a snowball fight, make a snow-angel and laugh until you cry!

Love and blessings to you all!

Suzie. xxx :)

Just a late night thought!

I was sat at the table after a lovely meal and a glass of cava gazing out of the window at the magnificent very large, very old, very wise tree, mesmorised by its ancient beauty and spirit, when it suddenly struck me that we get so caught up in the past and the sadness of lost opportunities and disappointments, that we become blind to the opportunities of the present. I remembered that exciting feeling of being young and new, where there was always something just around the corner promising some kind of new adventure. Every moment was bursting with new hope. Do you know the feeling? Then, suddenly, I realised that we, or I can be at times so weighed down by the past, that I am not leaving enough room for all the wonderful opportunities right in front of me! Maybe there still is that exciting feeling round that corner, if only I direct my gaze onto it. Maybe we have forgotten how to lay ourselves open to a different perspective? I think on the whole I am open, but maybe a tad jaded! We, when we were children lived in the moment for most of the time, filled with openess, or at least I did, believing in everything! Just imagine if as adults we got just one real bit of that back..., wonderful! A trust and innocence in the future. By the way the tree is the Owl tree of Owl tree cottage crafts!