Friday 5 October 2012

When Autumn Leaves Begin To Fall

The nights are drawing in, the early mornings & late afternoons are getting colder & this year, Autumn has arrived before Summer  :o)  If nothing else, it's reinforced that good old British tradition - moaning about the weather :o) It's all part of our charm &, like queueing, it's *what we do* :o)
 
There is beauty to be seen in every season, but Autumn is my favourite time of year. I love the rich, deep colours of the trees & bushes, that *nip* in the air when you first step out of the house in the morning & lazy Saturday afternoons when the rain is pouring down & you can snuggle up on the sofa to watch a good film :o)
 
Because it's now Autumn, I thought I'd change the pic for my blog header-doobery-wotsit & the photo I chose is one of my favourites. I took it about 3 years ago in Russell Gardens, opposite Kearsney Abbey, on a wet Sunday morning :o) It just sums up Autumn for me :o)
 
However . . .
 
With Autumn, comes that slightly uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. The feeling that Christmas is just along the road & round the corner. The feeling that, no matter how organised I am,  I am STILL going to fall headlong into a STATE OF PANIC !!!  Where will I find the time to make Christmas cakes, puddings, cards & presents ? What if I've forgotten someone ? Where can I hide things from the eagle eyes of a 4 year old who has already spotted Christmas bags on top of my wardrobe ?
 
 *Why are there Christmas bags up there, Grandma ? Is there anything for me up there ? Is there, Grandma ? Is there ? I'm REALLY trying to be a good boy, but it's hard . . * :o) 
 
I suspect  having a 2 year old brother doesn't help in the being-good-ALL-the-time stakes :o)
 
Knowing how I go so easily into full on panic mode, I've tried this year to do bits & pieces each month in preparation for Christmas. I've even resorted to taking my knitting with me to hospital appointments - I spend so much time in waiting rooms with himself, it seems a shame to sit & do nothing :o) I've made a few cards & next week, the cakes will be made. I don't like rich fruit cake, but the smell in the kitchen as the fruit is drowning soaking in brandy & then the cakes themselves being cooked, is just gorgeous :o)  Maybe I'll change the habits of a lifetime & try a slice. You never know, my taste buds may have altered since the last time I tried it :o)
 
My youngest grandson is probably the biggest Thomas the Tank Engine fan I've ever known :o) He can tell you which train is which, what the helicopter is called & all manner of other things about Thomas & his friends. So, with his train obsession in mind, this is the Christmas card I made for him the other day. Not Thomas, but I expect that's what he'll say when  he sees it :o)
 
 
So.
 
I may be in a slight panic, but my list of things to do is getting shorter :o)
 
Below are some other Christmas cards I've made. As usual, some are rubbish but there is the odd one or two that I'm pleased with :o) I told myself that I had to practice my stamping & every Christmas card I've made so far has a stamped image.
 

I love this sleepy little mouse :o)
 
 
 

 
I made this card today when we were waiting for the District Nurse to come to see himself :o)
 
 
 
Choir Boy or Angel ?  I really like this stamp. It's clean & simple & came with a magazine last year, along with a fair few others.
 
 
 
 This stamp is from one of the Penny Black collection. I LOVE those stamps :o)
 
 
 
This snowman was in the same collection as the Choir Boy, I just stamped him 3 times :o)
 
 
 
From the same stamp collection, this lovely tree was stamped with clear embossing ink, sprinkled with gold embossing powder & heated with my heat gun. In *real* life, it looks pretty impressive.
 
 
 
 Another Penny Black stamp. I just love those little mice & hedgehogs :o)
 
 
 
 
This little bear was a stamp I got on a magazine a year or 2 ago.
 
 
 
 
 The little mouse & robin again.


 
 *Is that a Penny Black stamp ?* I hear you cry !! Well, yes. How did you know ??!! :o)
 
 
 
 
 Yes, another Penny Black stamp :o)
 
 
 
And lastly, the lovely Penny Black snowman again :o)
 
 
That's the beauty of stamps, you can use them time & again. Other people have a better imagination that I do & when they use the same stamp, they somehow manage to come up with something totally different each time, whereas I just get one idea lodged in my head & it's there for the duration :o)
 
BUT . . .
 
While I wait for inspiration to strike, I suppose I'd better get on with knitting the hoodie grandson 1a requested. Once I've done that, it's on to hoodie no. 2 for grandson no. 1b & a Christmas card for grandson 1a. Because, after all, that's what Grandma's - even those who, like me, are FAR too young to be this old - do, isn't it ? :o)
 
 

3 comments:

  1. Your cards are wonderful, please don't make me think of Christmas just yet, you know what I am like, I will still be in denial a week before it....oh well, lol.
    Everyone, please listen to this - PJK makes The Best Christmas Cake I have ever eaten, true :D:D
    See you soon xxxx

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  2. Thank you, Val :o) You'll be able to have a sniff at your cake in a few weeks time - maybe the brandy fumes will inspire you to think about Christmas then !! :o)

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  3. Love your mouse Christmas cards, Pat. As a former stamp collector (postage) I was intrigued to see the name Penny Black. Of course that used to be one of the most sought after postage stamps -- perhaps it still is, but here its another kind of stamp!

    Great series of photos and comments for the making of Christmas Cakes. Yum. I have mine to make, but you've given me the inspiration to at least THINK about mixing up mine

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