Prayer Shawl and smiling because...

  that shawl / wrap thingy is finally finished!!!

"not before time" I hear you all shout!

Well it is now done and dusted
 and dare I say it

now that it's finished I'm not sure that I like it

I think it's because I was at it for so long
that I'm fed up looking at it

but anyway here it is ....

**T a   d a h**

Prayer Shawl

We had snow and icy roads on Tuesday morning

and while it looked lovely

thankfully it was all gone by lunchtime

- my kind of snowy weather!!!

The primulas are starting to flower in the garden and look so pretty...

Mr. Raindrops  is working away this week

and boy oh boy am I enjoying having the bed to myself

no snoring and snorking and I can toss and turn to my hearts content

so it's just teddy and me for the next few nights...

 and
he doesn't like the smell of hyacinths

finds the scent strong and overpowering

so guess what's in the hallway and smell heavenly...

The sun shone on Wednesday and while I was out in the garden this big man popped his nose

through the fence to say hello!

 I'm still trying to catch up with you all this week

but am making progress slowly but surely

If I haven't popped in to say hello to you yet

I'm on the way!!

Today I'm linking up with Karen from My Little Home and Garden
who is doing a post full of sunshine and happiness.
Karen has a lovely blog, pop over and say hi!

Have a great weekend my friends full of smiles and joy.

♥♥♥♥♥

Well it's Friday and so it's

{Green Day 31}

Why not post your photos here?

Thank you to all who participate I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do

Raindrops and Daisies

The object of the link up

is to post a photograph of something green.

The photos can be of anything you like

once they have a green theme,

green fields, pretty green things, green clothes,
green leaves, green foods,

anything at all that takes your fancy!

I hope that you will join in the fun.

Now here comes the boring bit - a few rules

1.   Please do not post anything that may be deemed offensive to others.

2.   Only post material that belongs to you.

3.   When posting your photographs please link back to Raindrops and Daisies

4.   Link directly to your Green Day post and not to the url of your blog

5.   Try and visit some of the other participants and leave a comment

Well hello my friends

I have borrowed teenager Raindrop's laptop so that I can do a quick post
I am sorry that I have not been visiting you
but

I am hoping to get a new laptop as mine is now completely banjaxed
and so fingers crossed I will be back in action again soon...

The weather here has been cold cold cold

those roads are ICY

I  hope that they improve as my nerves are shattered driving on them!

But when the ice melts the days are beautiful, cold, frosty and clear.

I went on a long hike with lovely daughter across the Curragh Plains

it took almost 3 hours but it was just wonderful

not so wonderful the next day
 when I could barely walk, had aches and pains all over

and had a stride like John Wayne's

my bottom and legs were sore for 2 days!!!

House and Home...

Planted some hyacinths around 2 weeks ago, the pot was pretty so fingers crossed that they grow!!

 also treated myself to two lovely Cath Kidson mugs

they are so pretty and dainty

the tea definitely tastes better from them!!!

I'm still knitting but this time it is taking forever

might be finished by Summer....

Well I know from reading your blogs

that you are all busy decorating your homes for Christmas

I bought some of these pretty decorations

I have far too many now but sure it's a time of excess
 so I suppose it's ok!

The crib is probably my favourite thing at Christmas. 

My crib was given to me by my Granny on my 1st birthday

it is probably an antique as it is so old

but it is very special.

Years of my brother and I playing with the figures

and my own children playing with them too

have resulted in chipped faces!!

✴✻✵✴✻✵

Well it's Friday and so it's {Green Day 26}

The usual rules apply...

Thank you to all who participate I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do

Raindrops and Daisies



A Knitting Project and a Giveaway

My week has been quiet, nothing much happening apart from the usual domestic drudgery!

Lots of laundry to be done and of course the sock fairy seems to have been busy

 as I have more odd socks than pairs!

***

The good  news is that eldest son has got a job at last.  
He graduated in September and I was wondering if he would ever get something, 
but alas he has and we are delighted for him.

It is lovely to see him dress in a suit, shirt and tie each morning instead of his usual tracksuit bottoms and jeans

and better again - he has money - 
so no more Mum's bank
happy happy days

***

Crafty me - oh no, I'm not!!

I love visiting crafty bloggers, full of wonderful creativity, beautiful photos, magnificent colourful works and homemade items

and so I thought this week that maybe I would start to knit again and I too could post photos of my fabulous project...

but heY hO, NO!

  I'm afraid it's not going to happen.

I picked up the knitting needles during the week and started a shawl, well it's supposed to be a shawl and even though I have followed the pattern every step of the way (well as best I can) it looks more like a scarf than a shawl and so not a huge success so far.

If it is a shawl it would just about fit a 5 year old, 

a very very small 5 year old...

dearie, dearie me I'm hoping that when I cast off it might look a bit better. 

but I am  thinking to myself

 "that's the end of your knitting phase Fiona"...

but if any of you know of any easy peasy patterns,

 maybe you could point me in the right direction?

 

Giveaways...

I have been one of the lucky winners of  Ellie's giveaway.

Ellie blogs at Feltabulous.

She has a lovely blog and I am so glad to have found her. She makes great jewellery and cakes and here is my lovely prize

lucky lucky me!

 ♥♥♥♥♥

 

and talking of giveaways I think that it is time I had one of my own.  

I said that when I reached 250 followers I would organise something

and so now the time has come.

Being perfectly honest I just can't believe that I have over 250 followers. 

 I never in my wildest dreams thought that anyone would want to read my silly ramblings, but there you go, you are all obviously as bonkers as me!

The bonkers bloggers that's us!!!

The giveaway prize I have to offer is this silver Christmas tree ornament 

handcrafted here in Ireland and from from Newbridge Silverware. 

 

To enter the giveaway, you must:

* be a public follower of Raindrops and Daisies

* leave a comment on this post saying that you would like to be entered into the giveaway

*to be in with a second chance blog about it, post about it on your Facebook page or wherever (just remember to let me know)!

I will pick a winner sometime before the end of the month

so that you will have the decoration 

in time to hang on your Christmas tree in early December!

 

  Have a lovely week and don't forget to get your photos ready for Green Day on Friday

Stitch and Bitch!

Have just ordered a copy of this book and I am hoping that it can help me get on with some knitting projects.

I love knitting but am a novice and haven't really knit since I was at school (which was a long time ago)!  The book sounds like  just what I am looking for and I'm hoping it will solve all my problems (even though there are many)!  Will let you know...........

Product Description

A complete guide to the craft of knitting offers detailed instructions for a variety of techniques and stitches, from plain to fancy, as well as information on the different types of needles and yarns, tips on shopping for yarns, finishing techniques, and forty stylish patterns.