…to catch up!  So much has been going on lately that it’s been hard to find a minute to stop off for a chat.  Added to which, the light has been lousy as far as photography goes.  We haven’t had a lot of snow in Norfolk, just bitter winds, hard frost and  grey skies.  I know how inconvenient and downright scary all those great dumps of snow have been for lots of you up and down the country, but the ten-year-old in me did hanker after a couple of days of winter wonderland, a snowman and a few snowballs!  And you’ll be pleased to know I did stop moaning about the mud once everything was frozen solid!

I would have liked to have joined in the Advent countdown theme which lots of bloggers are doing, but never mind,  I will share with you my grown up Advent calendar made for me by my dear daughter-in-law.  I was so touched when I received it. I think  because I’ve always made things other people are maybe a bit hesitant to make things for me so something hand-made especially with me in mind is always a treasure.  Especially from Celia, who is inexplicably convinced she’s not crafty, and I know she is!  And she’s just proved it…

So far I have found an exquisite little seashell, pearlescent and pink, a mermaid’s fingernail? Origami stars, some miniature press studs, a  Christmas stocking drawn by four-year-old Benjy, and a Fruitella sweetie which I’m probably going to pop in my mouth at any moment!  It’s going to part of my Christmas for many years to come (minus the edible bits of course!)

The Christmas Fair at our Village Hall went off nicely yesterday, and the Knit and Stitch Stall was laden with lovely things. 

 We did have that horrendous pricing issue of course. Hands up all you makers who know exactly what I mean.  Some of us were hoping to sell our things at a reasonably realistic price given materials and time and make a donation to the Hall funds.  Others were happy to sell things for whatever price they could to make funds for the hall and not take things home again.  Both perfectly laudable intentions, but very hard to marry up at the same venue when people were bringing beautiful things which obviously took hours to make in lovely fabrics but wanted to sell them for £1.50, making everything else look very expensive.   It’s so hard, I feel it undervalues the time people put into things, and it also means that all the craftspeople out there trying to make a living are somehow expected to count the enjoyment they have from their craft as part of the reward for their efforts, and to charge low prices to reflect this. 

This discussion has been going on for ages so I’m not expecting to solve it here, but every now and then I have a little rant!  I’ll stop now…and we did make enough for a good donation for the hall!

I’ve been making more robins, teeny weeny ones, this time. 

I’m putting them in the Folksy shop very, very soon.  I’ve also got a jar of felt beads which have been accumulating over the weeks waiting for me to turn them into jewelery, I’ll show you those next time…

We have a new furry friend! It’s Clovis,  the French Cat. Well, Norman Cat really I suppose…Le Chat Normand? 

Clovis has trailed behind his migrating family because of jabs and rules and regulations, and although he’s got as far as the UK he has to wait until a house has been found where he can join them.  (Landlord’s rules and regulations this time.)  In the meantime he’s found a comfortable post as a Lady’s Companion, aka my Mama. 

My Mother has been petless for quite a while, and as her mobility has decreased she has resisted the family suggestions of a kitten to keep her company.  Higgins make regular visits to keep her amused but is far too demanding to stay with her without his retinue of staff in attendance.  So a plot was hatched to give her some daily amusement, and Clovis a mission in life, as an entertainer.

He burst from his travelling box and went into full cute mode, a blur of activity…

Higgins has no idea about the competition yet.  It didn’t seem fair on Clovis to present him with a small dog  at this stage of settling in, especially one with a cold nose….

TEENY TINY ROBINS ARE NOW LISTED ON FOLKSY…see link at the top of the page