Hello! I hope you are all feeling as cheerful as I am at the moment. but if not I hope that somewhere along the way between this blog and the others taking part we can bring a you a smile or two.

It’s jolly cold and windy here today, but at least we haven’t got the ice and snow that is making life miserable further north. Norfolk always manages to fit in a lot of sky over it’s landscape and I never tire of photographing it.

(Home and a warm fire is tucked away behind the trees in the middle!)

I’ve every reason to be cheerful today because Tim is home, and home for Christmas too.  It doesn’t always happen, and he does have to go back offshore the day after Boxing Day for two weeks, but it’s lovely to have him about for the run up to Christmas.

Higgins is happy too.  Watch the remake here of ‘The Railway Children’….Higgins in the Jenny Agutter role…”Daddy, my Daddy!”

I have a small gem from the grandsons to share too… Max and Benjy won a Christmas card competition.  “Daddy, Daddy!  We’ve won a vulture, a £20 vulture!”

So that’s Christmas dinner taken care of then.

I’ve had a BIG challenge on the needlefelting front, and I think I’ve cracked it.  I had to create a hamster, and not just any hamster, a particular hamster.   It wasn’t till I started that I realised just how tricky hamsters are because they can be very round and fat, or all stretched out and lithe. I cracked it on the third attempt, and gave him an apple to play with for good measure.  I can’t tell you how happy I was when it all started falling into place! Phew!

Finally, I’m very happy to be able to share the exciting news I mentioned last week.  I’m on a list!  And not just any list, but the Channel4/4Homes Favourite Craft Blogs list!

I suppose I should be very cool about it, but I’m not.  I just can’t believe when I look back at my tentative beginnings here on Planet Penny, that I’ve come this far.  So I shall say it again…Phew!

And at the risk of sounding as if I’ve just been presented with an Oscar, it wouldn’t have happened without all you out there.  I was reading a blog a few days ago where the writer was justifying her decision to disable comments, because she said she was writing for herself and not for other people to express opinions.   But it doesn’t work like that in the crafting blog world.  I need your opinions and feedback, and don’t know where I’d be without it!

I’m sure you all have lots of Reasons to be Cheerful you could share just at the moment in the run up to Christmas.  If you put them in your Blog, add it to the Linky below so people can visit, and if you don’t have a blog, please feel free to tell us what is making you happy this week in the ‘Comments’.

See you soon….x