Spooky!

It has been a strange day.  I had a very restless night where I kept imagining the bedroom furniture in different positions.  I got up this morning and changed around my bedroom furniture that has remained in place for over 14 years.  I  cleared up 14 years of dust from under my bed and saw enough cobwebs to merit
Hallow e'en.

An eerie day, overcast and gloomy.  A day of the unexpected, and a shock when I discovered this pumpkin coloured nasturtium in the back garden.  A most vibrant bloom that cheered my soul.  It must have self seeded from last year and decided to show its flowery face today. 

Happy Hallow e'en and Samhain for those that celebrate it.  I will light a candle and give thanks for the past year.

What's Your Quest?

As a collector of crystals and gemstones, I was drawn to this smokey quartz seer stone.  Seer stones are natural river polished stones that are cut on one side so that you can see within.  They are said to be an aid to meditate on the past, present and future.  I just think they are lovely to look at and hold.

On my last day at primary school, back in the early '70's,  my class teacher gave each child some words of wisdom.  We were to go up to his desk one at a time and he would write down and whisper some words that were applicable to each child.  To me he whispered 'seek and you shall find' and I have been seeking ever since!  I have a quest for knowledge.  I want to know everything about everything and as my Mum once said 'you want to know the ins and outs of a cats ear hole' or words to that effect!!!

It can be quite a tiring feat in seeking and finding.  The more I find the more I want to seek.  I have so much to discover that it would take several lifetimes to ever have 'enough' knowledge.

Do you have a quest in life?  I have listed some suggestions below.  Some apply to me and others don't. 

• discover the secret of eternal youth
• research a family tree
• reach the top of your profession
• provide a loving and stable home
• open an animal sanctuary
• provide for those in 'need'
• bake the ultimate cake
• climb a mountain
• write a book

What's your quest?

Walking in the Woods

Yesterday I walked for miles.  I crossed ancient bridges, walked alongside bridle paths and passed by fields and hedgerows still brimming with fruit.  A warm, dry, autumnal day with a slight breeze: just perfect conditions for walking about in nature.  The highlight of my walk was discovering this woodland glade.  A canopy of green leaves above and a mattress of fallen leaves below.  There is a magical quality about these woods.  You can tell that there are many stories and secrets contained within.  The trees appear to be leaning towards each other whispering and entwining branches to be as one.

There is nothing dark and foreboding about these woods.  They feel spiritual and protective and the green luminosity that shines through the canopy make one feel that they have witnessed something very special.

Pagan Inspired Paper Craft

As I become more in touch with nature, my themes in paper crafting seem to be heading that way too!
I made these spirit of nature or 'Green Man' and Woman tags: yet to await their fate of being hole punched and adorned with a suitable tie.

The Green Man is often shown to have a stern appearance but I wanted mine to look happy and approachable.

I also made a hare and the moon tag.  The hare is quite stylised with an extraordinarily long front leg.  Have you ever noticed how long their limbs are, or even their ears?  Handsome, lithe creatures.  No wonder artists are inspired to paint them.

Is Nature Good or Bad?

My mind is most active just before I fully wake up or whilst I am out and about walking.  Thoughts spring to mind and I mull them over trying to make sense of them.  Today I was thinking about nature as I walked through the back streets of rows of terraced houses, marvelling at the crab apple trees that lined up along the pavements.  Nature was everywhere, from the birds on roof tops to the grass that was forcing its way up through cracked paving slabs.  Nature is beautiful, I thought to myself then counteracted this thought by thinking about people who had been affected by earthquakes, Tsunamis and other forms of natural disaster brought about by the wrath of nature.  Is nature wicked?  I asked myself this question and came up with this:

Nature is neither good nor bad

It just is.

I don't believe that natural forces are out to 'get us'.  I think that nature just wants to restore equilibrium on the planet and will do whatever it needs to do maintain the status quo.

Thank you for the feedback on my previous blog post.  I have decided to blog once a week starting from next Monday.  I hope to see you then!

The Time has Come........................

....................to lie low for a little while.  I feel that my blog is slipping away from some of you.  I try hard to show a broad mix of things that I do.  I also try to be all things to all people, and that can never work.  I have three other blogs (listed in my side bar) to reflect some of the other things I do, but this is my main blog.  I don't know what direction to take it now.  I think I need to take a step back in order to move this blog forward.  My wish is for you to enjoy reading my blog and not visit as a force of habit.  I think I may go back to blogging once a week rather than just dropping by with my erratic ramblings.  In the mean time, it would be helpful to me if you let me know what you like me to blog about most of all.

At this moment in time........................

............cold and tired, mind whirring, heart racing and words jumping around in my head that I have to put to paper.....

 I Am

I am opposite ends of a piece of string

I am plain, I am fancy

I am amazingly upbeat, yet tragically sad

I am simple and I am complex

I am dark yet I seek the light

I am Navy blue

I am a riddle that cannot be solved

because that is the way

I Am

Simone Whipp 

Edited: Just to let you all know that I am fine.  I am prone to being melodramatic from time to time and like to put my thoughts and feelings down  in a poetic form.  Thank you for your concern and I apologise if I have alarmed anyone.

Passion

As I continue to make the 'wise words' key fobs I think the words on the one pictured above are most apt to me.  I do live life with passion.  I extract the good out of every day.  I am passionate about making and doing, learning new things and trying to make sense of things I don't really understand.

I have many new craft projects waiting in the wings to be explored and many projects to get involved in at the vineyard including building a cob oven and bee keeping.  All I need now is some form of employment where my passion for life could shine through.

Paint Sample Match Books

 I have been wanting to do something with paint samples for some time now, other than using as book marks!

 I found this wonderful tutorial for making match books over at  http://whimsy-girl.blogspot.com/2008/10/paint-sample-notebook-tutorial.html

Now I can't stop making them!  I have some glittered dog stickers so I added them as embellishments.  These are such fun to make and maybe something to consider doing with the children over the next school holiday.

Rook or Crow?

I see many of these birds around parkland where I do my voluntary work.  Is it a rook or a crow?  I have heard this saying:

'a crow in a crowd is a rook, a rook on its own is a crow'

Do you know if there is any truth in this saying and how do you tell them apart?

Edited: I now believe the bird above is a crow after going to the RSPB website and listening to the audio of the sound they make. 

September's End

I walked through the sun-baked farm on my way to a vine growing course at the vineyard.  The sky was cloudless and blue, the setting - harmonious.  Summer in September.