Infinate future chaos...what will our children see?

Infinite future chaos – “whats that?” I here you say,
its the way we shape our future by how we live today,
the way we live our lives has a knock on effect,
we should give this world of ours some love and respect.

Freak weather, wars, global warming, hurricanes and nature dying,
destruction, rainforest's disappearing, children starving, children crying,
riots, warfare, guns, chemical waste, nuclear bombs and anarchy,
extinction of animals, genetics, clones, who is it down to, powers that be?.

Just think of our children, how will they survive, what will they see?,
lets all make changes so they can be happy and free,
who knows what the future holds but its down to me and you,
I'm just thankful I wont be around and bet that you are too.

This is a poem I wrote ages ago and it's message is still very relevant today, you can buy this as a card or print from redbubble, you can also get the above pic as a tshirt too, great quality too.
I wish I could wave a magic wand and sort things out with this world of ours, you may only be one person and sometimes it is easy to think that your little changes don't mean much but together our changes can become huge and have a real impact.

baby is on it's way....

My lovely sister in law (unofficially so far) is over her due date and we don't know whether it's a boy or a girl so with this in mind and some books from the library I started making some lovelies for her, I made her a patchwork quilt using some stashed fat quarters I have had for a while and didn't know what to do with and a matching lavender baby to hang in the crib to aid (hopefully) some sleep.

the baby looks much better in real life - trust me....

I love the baby blue and white striped squares, this was a sheet from a set I discovered a few years ago in a vintage shop, originally from a french hotel!! I do hope she likes it. I plan on making baby booties too with the help of this book
The photos in this book are lovely and there is a pull out pattern sheet at the back of the book to go with each design, clear easy to follow instructions too, it is written by Emma Hardy who has written several craft books and worked for Marie Claire (women's mag). I have read her green crafts for children book which is lovely if you have little ones.

I got my Christmas country living through the post today too and the piccy's are gorgeous, I do so want to live in the countryside and frolic in the deep crisp snow after opening gifts galore and looking forward to a hearty Christmas dinner then relaxing in front of a big open roaring fire, whilst smelling cinnamon and cloves wafting in the air.

Hope your having a lovely weekend xxxx

Cheery things on a rainy wednesday....

Awesome finds to make a smile come on your face in this pissy October here in Blighty, best of all this stuff is FREE, oh yeah we all like a bargain and with Xmas on its way and no spare pennies, we like free things best off all.

Lovely, warm snuggly songs, full albums to download actually all for free and legit, I especially love this soundtrack for listening to with the kids, we listen to it at lunch and it keeps everyone cheery, it's a bit like feeling stoned without the drugs!! Have a good look around Brian Gossett's site, it's great.......

Art posters to download and print off, these are top notch pictures from really talented artists, Feed your soul, the free art site really does, for me anyway and I'm sure it will for you too....

102 free mandalas - what's a mandala?,

To relax and to improve concentration, there are many things that can be done. One of these is, in peace or with soft background music, to colour in a Mandala.
Mandala more or less means "circle" or "centre". Shapes and patterns are added to a clearly calming centre point.

•Mandalas are healing mediums for the soul
•Mandalas are the merging of body, spirit and soul
•They uncover your own creativity
•You discover yourself and the real you
•You master your every day life and stress easier
•You become calm and gain trust and composure

Children love these and spend ages colouring them, they look great hung back to back like a wind chime, or sun catcher.

Lovely Bella Dia has the most delectable blog filled with pretty things and here I found this crochet heart tutorial, I haven't tried it out yet but it is on my to do list!

(image from Bella Dia's site)

On this site you have to register, but that won't take long and you can get you hands on some great free patterns for sewing, Burda style -for people who sew I love the tag line on this site - you have arrived at your kind of candy store!

Free printable paper toys, this lovely children's site by Marylin takes me back years, all you need is a printer, paper and scissors to get cracking at making your own paper toys, I especially loved making the mermaid puppet theatre

(image from Marylin's site)

Hope you all have lots of fun, smiles and enjoyment from these sites, who by the way have nothing to do with me, I just find these things whilst surfing the virtual ocean ;)

charles cole scam

I am on a site called Misi Handmade and I received a message the other day from Charles Cole who is interested in buying my kitschy pink pop painting, he asked me to reply to him on his private email, which I did, he asked if the painting is still for sale and to send my paypal details to him, he said he would arrange collection of my painting himself.

I then received an email which made me think this is a scam, I have attached it at the bottom of this message. I googled it and it turns out he is a scammer, I wanted to inform you about this because I think it sounds like a money laundering scam, I know lots of you sell your wares online and I feel like I would of never fallen for anything like this, but because it was through misi and the excitement of selling my painting -especially with christmas coming, I did. Thankfully I realised before any money transferred. I have informed Misi of this and hope this guy's karma works very soon.

Mon, 1 November, 2010 10:20:36 just about to make the payment
From: Charles Coleman



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was just about to make the payments when i had this little problem with the picking up of the item , I am currently on sea and i tried to book pick up with my pick up agent, but they asked me to pay first before they can make the booking, and they only accept western union money transfer for payments and they don't accept paypal or bank transfer and I tried to send the money online but i couldn't and I am on sea and there is no way i can find a western union agent to make the transfer to my pick up agent, so i wanted to ask if it was ok for me to include my pick up agent's fees in the payments I am about to send through paypal, my pick up agent charged £100.00 plus insurance and all of that, please can i include their money in the payments I want to send then after i have made the payments you will help me forward the £100.00 to my pick up agent through western union money transfer, this I would have done myself and not bother you but the for the fact that I am currently on sea, so after I have made the payments you will help me send £100.00 to my pick up agent through western union money transfer, I just wanted to seek your consent before going ahead with the payments,I will more than appreciate if you mail me back, and I will be making the payments shortly.


PS:the shipping company's Head quarters and any pick up fees to be paid is sent to their head quarters by the payee, so the money for pick up will be sent to their head quarters through western union money transfer(this can be done from any post office) at western union.

where did the years go?...

My middle boy turned 13 on Saturday, I can't believe how the time has flown, how much he has grown, how 13 years a go I gave birth to this tiny, grey baby who wasn't breathing, who scared me so much because I wanted him to be fine, who, when he started to scream made me happy beyond my wildest dreams, who didn't stop crying unless I had him in a baby sling, who grew into a blond, curly haired toddler with big rosy cheeks, a quiet, smiley little boy, a tidy, bionicle loving boy who loved to play football and was very confident with his school friends, a computer geek, still loving bionicles, thoughtful, caring and smart young man who is now a teen!

We had an Italian style dinner, with Italian music, soy candles and followed by a devilishly good and 2000+ calories stuffed carrot cake
I hope my lovely chap you have many more, joyous birthdays to come



MY DEAR CHILD.
You are the poem
I dreamed of writing
the masterpiece
I longed to paint.
You are the shining star
I reached for In my
ever hopeful quest
for life fulfilled..
You are my child.
Now with all things
I am blessed.

Author unknown.

Salford Museum and Blackpool Illuminations

We had a couple of trips out this past week, on days where the sun peeked through the October sky, we went to the illuminations, there are new ones this year and of course all the old favourites, we always walk through them but the fumes from all the cars and coaches going slow was terrible this time, maybe because it was cold or maybe because I'm more sensitive to pollution, who knows but the children enjoyed it greatly, I loved the Indian tableaux, video screen and music playing, it was great, the boys didn't let me dance though - far too embarrassing now they are older.
it's funny because living in Blackpool all my life you would think I would know all about the history of them, but I didn't, it was only when my teacher moment struck and I started telling the boys all about them with the help of this site that I learnt quite a lot, like they started in 1879!

For our topic work we have been learning about the Victorians, so I discovered Salford Museum had a fully sized Victorian street all laid out with shops etc, this was a museum we have never visited surprisingly with it being quite close, well 50 mins by train, It was great and well worth a visit if your in the area, there are sounds that are played that make you feel like you are really back in the old days, the longer we stayed the more we spotted, they have dress up clothes to wear before you go in so you can play the part, the boys did not want any part of this and when I started to dress up they ran off with a warning that "I was going to get done, and to put them back", what happen to my little fun chaps, teenage years are a bit rubbish for fun!!

It isn't huge this museum, but we spent over an hour in it, it is very near to the train station and has a reasonably priced cafe inside with a play area although we didn't use either so I can't recommend them. The toilets are clean and there are curators around to answer any questions, the bonus for me though is there are worksheets, clip boards and pencils all round the different areas for the children to fill in.

My favourite shop, the haberdashery, gorgeous hats and fabrics, it was rather dark so not many photo's came out with my camera, I also loved the corner shop, I would love everything in it for my kitchen!

We have also been collecting plums from our neighbours garden, who has had tons of them leftover, we made plum jam 7 jars, froze some stewed fruit for crumbles, made plum juice which has all gone as the boys loved it so much and been eating plums with all sorts! Yummy.

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Sometimes I spend hours dreaming on the net at a life rather different to mine, not that I don't love what I have and that I'm blessed with 3 funny children but you know those times when you seek solace in shopping even if its virtual, or you imagine to be someone else who is wealthy enough to purchase whatever she desires without thinking of cost or consequence, well these are a small few of the sites that I go off into dreamland. I wanted to share them with you :

Serene and beautiful all in a luxurious website Gypsy Moon is well worth a visit, imagine gypsies and pirates in a romantic faraway embrace whilst dancing seductively to a jig.....
Check out these cakes, fabulous and amazing Let them eat cake is truly a cake lovers fantasy website

The magic cabin, totally lovely stuff for children, saved for the day I am blessed with a little girl called Lavender Isabella..........

Anthropologie

Awesome home wares and clothes, for moments of dreaming about a penthouse studio apartment on the upper east side in another life as a single fashion designer living a life I could get accustomed to.........

Dreaming of being a great singer in a dimly lit bar, singing Downtown full belt and shimming my hips in this gorgeous little green number, the man on the front row gazing at me like I am the most exquisite thing he has ever seen.....

Fabby dresses and pin up style clothing