Mousy Brown's House-Creating, crafting and collecting. Enjoying Life.

Am Nadolig ces i.....

Every Friday, before coming home, I have a Welsh lesson where I "help" a Year 7 and I thought that I would take advantage of my newly learned skills to introduce you to my inspired Christmas gift from Jack...(I apologise now to real Welsh speakers for any obvious mistakes, please be kind!)

"Am Nadolig ces i ukelele glas newydd.  Dwi'n hoffi mae ukelele glas achos maen fedigedig.  Mae ukelele efo fi o'r enu Hector..."

This sort of translates as : "For Christmas I got a new blue ukelele.  I like my ukelele because it is brilliant. My ukelele is called Hector..."

As you can see I am not going to win prizes for my fluid Welsh speaking and as yet I haven't a clue how to make a sound with Hector...but I am trying with both and who knows maybe one day I will be able to play like this...

 

....but in Welsh!

#The Lisa Hannigan album 'passenger' was also a gift for Christmas and it is wonderful!#

Colds and accidents cause a little pause.

Bags were made, advent calendars went up ....then winter colds arrived and Sam took a spectacular fall at school, so I couldn't return to show you as promised and you will have to wait a little longer to see the photos.  We are snuggled by the fire with lots of vitamin C and fluids, echinacea and elderberry tincture, paracetamol and knitting and Sufjan Stevens on the cd player.  I am almost enjoying it, in between coughing fits!  Hope December is treating you a little kinder, back as soon as I can....

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod 2011.

I thought you might enjoy a glimpse of what we were doing yesterday...I tried to upload some video but after 4 hours of fiddling I gave up in frustration.  If you want to see (and hear) more you can enjoy all the highlights, in Welsh,  here!

Simple snapshot....

I am still feeling "feak and weeble" ,as we say here, and I have been joined in that state by Sam who had an exciting trip in an ambulance on Monday, after a nasty bang to the head.  So any plans for normal posts have been shelved and instead I thought I would give you a quick snapshot of goings on around here.

= I am enjoing =

The smell and beauty of the roses in the garden.

Reading Magyk (Septimus Heap)together in bed every evening.

Fresh salad from the garden.

Drying the laundry on the line (in between showers).

Feeling inspired by reading Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture.

Planning for my visit to Woolfest next week.

Listening to this free download from Josh Garrels.

Peeking at our neighbours bees in Haroldswood and learning even more on Valarie's blog.

Knitting a new bag to hold my knitting, with plans to felt it when it's finished, more details and pictures as soon as it's done!

Slowly cutting strips from old shirts (that's where all the buttons came from in my last post) and sheets to have a go at a braided rug like this.

Reading Mollie Makes and making something I wanted more than an ipod cover with their free kit (it's for my knitting needles).

Taking things slowly and resting a lot.

Learning to take time to plan and to enjoy it as much as doing.

The care and generosity of my friends (both on and off-line), offering help, company and kind words.

Time to think....

.....and lots of cuddles with a small grey dog!

A moment of pure happiness.....

This view of blue, blue sky as I drove home from work, the weekend ahead of me and Newton Faulkner on my ipod......

 ....I'd love to know if anything is making you smile this friday?

Getting ready for Christmas.


Listen to the Sufjan track below while looking at the pictures above and you should have a pretty accurate feel for the mellow weekend we just spent, filled with making, sparkly lights, friends and family and just a bit of echinacea!

 

Dancing in the fields.

 

Glorious sunshine and a great new album to listen to ( Beachcombers windowsill by Stornoway) inspired a bit of mad dancing through the fields yesterday.  I spun and skipped, singing away out loud with only the cows and Snap to observe.  Thank goodness we live in a small village and I can escape to the countryside so easily, you will be glad to know that I do have the grace to blush if I come across another walker (although it has only happened once and luckily it was a friend!).  In between 'zorbing' I managed to capture some of the beauty around me and I will leave you with some of those images and well wishes for a happy weekend - maybe you could go and sing to the cows, it's great fun I promise!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Joy!

 

Today - just this moment, my heart is singing with joy.  I have taken my own advice and 'been brave' and in a series of steps this has led me to entering the print department of our local Art college with a portfolio of my work this afternoon.  All the little voices inside me were urging me to turn and run and opening my folder in front of the tutors was excruciating.  Displaying what I have made is like displaying my soul and the fear of what I might see in their faces nearly stopped me trying.  Instead their encouragement and enthusiasm has helped me believe I am on the right path and I can't wait to see where it leads me next.  I have drawn the above little reminder for the next time I forget or feel doubt - now all I have to do is work out how to make it into a papercut.......

Holiday Album - A night under the stars.

We decided at two o'clock yesterday afternoon to make the two hour drive to the beach.  The late afternoon light was gorgeous and we stayed until it started to get dark.

 

Driving home beneath a stunning sunset and even more stunning orange(harvest?) moon (sorry no photos - it was hidden behind trees by the time we got home).  We listened to a bit of this....

and as the sky was clear for the first time in weeks, we finished the weekend by sleeping on the trampoline and star-gazing.

It was surprisingly comfortable and cosy, although rather wet on the outside thanks to a very heavy dew.  Going to sleep with the cool air on your face and bats flitting beneath the stars and waking up to warm sun on your skin and birds singing in the buddleia next to us can definitely be recommended.  Just in case you wondered I fitted in the middle in the flowery sleeping bag and Daddy, who had to work today, looked after Snap in the house. I can see this becoming a regular summer ritual - one I won't mind repeating at all!

Relaxing into Summer and a request for a list of lovely links.

 

Summer holidays are finally here and the next seven weeks stretch ahead of us full of possibility.  The choice I was facing between a career opportunity I have wanted to pursue for twenty years, my family and my creative life has resolved itself perfectly and I can enjoy the break full of optimism for what the Autumn will bring.  The boys and I have resolved to spend the first week in our pyjamas, with no appointments, plans or deadlines, enjoying a complete break from routine and allowing our bodies to recover from all the rush, worry and excitement of the last few months.  During that time we are going to watch movies: Nim's Island [DVD] , The Spiderwick Chronicles [DVD] [2008],  The Boat That Rocked [DVD] [2009]  Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief [DVD] [2010] and  Swallows and Amazons [DVD]

Read books and zines: The Hobbit: 70th Anniversary Edition, Spoonful, Plain and joyful living, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, The Gentle Art of Quilt-Making,  How to Break a Dragon's Heart (Hiccup), Nonsense Songs and Stories and The Natural Navigator

Explore links and plan projects: Amy's list of what to do

Listen to old favourites:

and plan new menus for fun in the kitchen:  Falling Cloudberries: A World of Family Recipes, Smitten Kitchen, River Cottage and Orangette

I may be quiet over the next few days but I would love it if you could share some ideas of what you will be up to over the summer for me to explore when I get back.  Do you have special traditions or new ideas to fill the days (or nights)?  Crafty ideas to keep us cool (or dry if this summer is anything like usual)? Recipes perfect for an outside meal or dvd watching in your PJ's?  Leave me a comment or some links and then join us over the holidays as we see how much we manage to pack in!