Busy Summer...restful Autumn.

Hi all, yes, I know, I haven't posted all summer...but I have been REALLY busy and have been physically away for most of it. I have been helping out on a friend's food stall at various events and have travelled around a lot of the country meeting great people and seeing lovely places, it is over now, so time to get back to my 'thing' and work from home, make my jewellery for Etsy (pagannature.etsy.com) and enjoy autumn and winter.

I love this time of year - being a jumper and blanket type of person, so when others including my husband are complaining about the cold, rain and dark, I am quietly reveling in it! Even down to cooking, stews, roasts, stodgy puddings...total comfort food.

So, I have sorted my wardrobe, summer things away, winter things rediscovered, set the heating timer so it never really gets too chilly in the house and have stocked up on stock cubes and tins in the food cupboard...bring it on winter.

When is your favourite time of year? Let me know, and if it's now I hope you are well. I'm on twitter @gemmsky if you want to connect there :)

Cats and tin-openers...

To my knowledge, my cat has never been fed food from a tin, we never have tinned cat food...so why does he always go crazy at the sound of a tin opener?! Is it some kind of in-built reflex, something in his DNA, like when he watches birds and chatters at the window...he's never caught or eaten one yet knows he should. It may be a mystery among cat owners, but something fascinating nonetheless.

Blimey Doris!

With reports all over Twitter and Facebook of trees down, injuries caused and roads closed it seems Doris has hit with a vengeance today. I was woken by rain and wind during the night, and although it makes a warm bed seem extra cosy with a storm raging outside, my poor husband had to go out in it to work at 5.30am! The cat however has had a lovely morning sitting in the kitchen window watching leaves blowing around, one happy customer for Doris at least.

Stay safe everyone!

New Home, carry on.

Hi all, there has been an absence of posting once again, but I do have a valid excuse...kind of! We have just moved house, and although it took a long (ish) time, a lot of swearing and a near divorce, we are in and nearly settled...and have wifi due to a borrowed dongle so I feel a bit more in touch with the world again!

There are still some boxes and bags to be sorted through, and a wardrobe to build (which will alleviate the bag situation) but the end is in sight.

So, a bit late but still important, happy new year! Hope you had lovely Christmases and here's to the upcoming year.

First stormy day...

After turning in at around 5am this morning (usual night owl behavior) I fell straight to sleep and woke up to a very stormy day, the rain and wind lashing at the window, cars making swooshing noises as they drove by and a distinct chill in the air - the first real autumnal storm has arrived.

I like a storm, it makes me feel awake, the way trees dance and that weird light that comes with violent weather is really special, but then I am lucky to live in a warm dry home, it would be a totally different story otherwise, and I always think of homeless souls and those who have their homes damaged by this kind of weather. There are reports on the news today of storm damage at the coast, caravans being torn to bits and big waves smashing town defenses. Thoughts are with them.

So today will mostly be spent indoors, drinking coffee, and making things for etsy...not bad.

Praise indeed..feline fine.

Well, our little moggy Furmi (named after Enrico Fermi the physicist - science nerd husband got to name him) has just been to the vet for his second lot of injections to keep him healthy and happy, and the vet said he is a 'fine figure of a cat'...very proud! He is beautiful, but then we are biased so it was lovely to hear that :)

In 2 weeks he goes to have his 'little operation' after which he will hopefully lose part of his Tasmanian devil type playtime madness...but there is no guarantee! Toes, flappy trousers and anything he can pounce on gets attacked at the moment, and he runs at around 1000 miles per hour ;) Now though, he is curled up as I type - helpful chap, tired after a busy day.

Shift work.

My husband works shifts, so as a result my own daily routine adjusts according to his schedule. For example this week he is on late shift, so I begin working when he goes to work, I actually quite enjoy this as it means every other week has a different feel to it, especially now the darkness of winter is looming. I will work, make things and write until the small hours, then start to cook so we can eat when he gets home, a bit of t.v to unwind before bed at some point during the early hours. We obviously do not get up early during late weeks, sometimes seen as lazy by some who have never had the pleasure of shift work! A certain number of hours sleep is vital, whenever they may fall, we are still working while these folks are snoring away in their beds. Lucky to be a natural night owl I guess...different story during his early shift weeks though ;)