Tuesday, March 22

homeward bound...


"well that's that then"
i announced to my man in early january as he arrived home late from work to survey the leftovers on the table from our chinese takeout.
"what's what Tif?" he asked with a little trepidation in his voice
(gosh isn't that a spiffy word, Darren dictionary is aiming a little higher these days)

i held in my little mitts a tiny piece of paper,
"it would appear the fortune cookie gods have spoken" upon which i read their wisdom to him as he helped himself to the remains of supper
"you will soon vacation in a place of cool climate"


i gave him credit, he did not bat an eye, just calmly pointed out as he always does when i claim every fortune that comes out of a cookie to be spookily accurate, that it is possible to read anything and everything into them.

i allowed him to digest his meal before i pointed out 'Old Blighty' is a place of cool climate, this time i noted his eyes rolled heavenwards. he agreed indeed it was and how fortunate i was going back there this summer so i was able to once again claim my cookie fortunes have a canny knack of coming true.

"ah ha!" i chimed in, "my fortune says 'soon', therefore it must be talking about sometime closer than July." i waited... nothing.

and so i bided my time, waiting and watching for the moment to strike and like all canny plans one sits upon, the time eventually comes. my time came in mid February and with it a cheap flight back to Old Blighty for a few days to spend quality time with Our #1 and recharge my british batteries.


tomorrow, me, my three pairs of clean undies, along with three frocks, three pairs of woolly tights (which still need darning) and one pair of clogs will be winging our way back over the pond for a whistle stop tour of a small island. Our #1 and myself will be doing a whole lot of travelling but it will be grand for we have so much to catch up on since we last met in December. we will be meeting and greeting peachy folks where ever we go. those peachy folks include (and not in any particular order)

my mother and father
my brother Ben
my soul sister Debbie
Joanna, lovely editor of soon to be released Mollie Makes
(will be sure to talk about that on my return)
Louise Dearie from my dottie angel camp last september
(she will be kindly taking us on a trip around Spitalfield market and brick lane)
the peachy Emily Chalmers (eeeek!)
and lastly, the day before i head back to my shed
where upon i will meet
my friend Gloria,
my buddy Fran
and plenty of other lovely dearies who will be at the fair


as you can see there will be lots of miles to cover inbetween the happy meet ups. this is grand for it will give me time to sit and natter with Our #1 whilst i do a bit of crocheting. along with the undies and frocks i will be packing some yarn and a special hook, her name is Grandmother Hook and she belonged to my grandmother Jane. there is real age to this hook of mine and it shows when looking at the lines upon her.

together we will be working on some 'itty bitty' garlands like the one you see in the pictures today, upon my return i will be finishing off the appliques and then popping them into my little shop window. all profits from the little garlands will go to relief funds aiding Japan.
i have noted everytime i crochet or stitch something for another, i spend all the time i am stitching thinking of them... these little itty bitty garlands will be no different.


Carlos my trusty camera, will alas be staying behind for he is unreliable as a travelling companion these days, so instead i will be taking a new fellow. he is called Leonard and he has a trusty lens and appears to have a liking for dim and dingy corners...

i have twiddled with all his bits and despite extensive studying of his manual (causing me to break my 'no reading manuals' rule) i cannot find his soul. however i have told myself Leonard has a lot to live up to and therefore i need to give him more of a chance, so together we will be taking pictures of our travels and with a bit of high hopes, will have a nice lot of snap shots to show on our return. i have put him in a fine and dandy floral travel pouch to make him feel worthy and therefore heighten the chances of him showing me his soul and thus, me and him getting along nicely.


righty ho, i am away to gather up my undies, frocks, tights and clogs. leave penciled scribbled notes all over the shed for remaining clan members to heed and as i see Mr Sunshine has come out to play, i may well take a few moments to stand on an acre of moss with my chickie peas and enjoy his rays. just for a moment though, for tights need 'a darning' for i do not think i can possibly get away with 'stirruped' tights in clog sandals...

she will be back tomorrow with a final 'ta ra' ~ Tif

30 comments:

Carol said...

Tif, it isn't cool any more! Sat in deckchair reading book this afternoon and........ dozed off! Well it was very warm.
Carol xx

Sarah said...

Ahh...enjoy your trip back to Blighty. It's getting a bit warm here at the moment {well, warm-er, lets not get carried away} Have a wonderful time I shall look forward to reading of your trips around our small island.
Fortune cookies are always right! x

silverpebble said...

I am thinking you're having a Cilla moment there, at the jaunty end of your post. Do you know, my Grandpa P was a doctor he was, and he delivered Ms Black (actual name Ms White) into the world. Surprise Surprise! In their less kind moments, certain female members of my family say that he should have, er, put her back again. Rude.

I will wave from my little pink cottage (soon to have a lovely new wood-and-slate porch) and I send you greetings of pretty blossom wot I snapped today, and that is here in abundance to greet you.

Kath said...

Cor, that bunting is just spiffy. Dear ol' Blighty welcomes you home with open arms and hopefully a bit of sunshine. Today was just beyootiful. And don't forget! The country living spring fair is on this week too...

Teresa Kasner said...

Dear Tif, your trip sounds like a real busy whirlwind of excitement! I can't wait to see photos from your travels. I must say I've been looking at banners of crocheted things on blogs for quite some time and the ones I like the very best are your lovely pointy dangly pennants! If you don't mind I might try to emulate them.

Have a wonderful and safe journey!

PS - Your name is on my blog today.. :-)

fee @ chipper nelly said...

hey,
With all that talk of travels and those lovely pictures of marvellous bunting i can't believe I'm commenting on your chickens!
They are very (VERY) beautiful - I think you may too have a lemon cuckoo Orpington (or 2?)
Ours are the very same (a handsome mix of colours) and are currently giving our new rescue girls a very hard time.
Happy travels...fee x

Unknown said...

I hope that you have a good trip and that the weather is kind to you over here. I am looking forward to Mollie Makes ( I subscribed last week) Take Care Sue x

Marie said...

Have a safe and happy trip and do take lots of pictures!

Attila said...

Bring your thermals, luv! ;-)

Sweeter Hours said...

have a wonderful time!

dottie angel said...

oh my dearies, what a fine and dandy bunch you are!
silver pebble, love love love your tale of 'our cilla' :)
fee, indeed i have three buff orpingtons and three rhode island reds, they are looking tres peachy now spring is here...
i am now thinking perhaps i need to hedge my bets and pack a thermal vest too and i have wisely upped my undies to 4 pairs along with 4 pairs of tights :)

Little Blue Mouse said...

A thermal vest might be wise, as although it's been glorious the last couple of days you know how changeable it can be over here.

Janis Morris said...

Are you sure you can take that crochet hook on the plane? I never fly so I don't know, but it scares me to think of them taking away your grandmother's hook.

Debby said...

I love reading your words. Have a safe and fun trip. I would love to know how to make that banner. It is adorable and so are the feather ones.

Sharon Stanley said...

oh here i am the cows tale, but i hope you have a wonderful wonderful trip...i have so wished to go to england to visit my dearie friend in new castle....but, knowing you are there makes me happy happy....do have a safe trip and please be sure and take a lot of photos with leo....thanks!

liz said...

Have a super time on your trip. Love the bunting. :)

Juliab said...

Hope you have a fab time back here in the UK. I too will be in London on 2nd April, wedding dress shopping with my sister who is getting married this December. Let's hope the weather is sunny for us all. BTW, please tell me how you get such neat edges to your crocheted triangles. I have been trying to get nice straight non jiggly edges for a while now and just can't manage it! x

Greedy Nan said...

Hope your trip will be of the most utmost kind - which of course it will be due to your itinary [is that right Darren]...

Dana Summers said...

I hope you have an awesome time with your number 1! Can't wait to see the picture story.

Donna -Little Tiny Stitches said...

Thankyou kindly for the link to 'Mollie makes' . I shall be looking out for it, and as it's due to be released near my very special birthday I shall not be told off for having to buy it :0)

If you feel worn out on your whirlwind trip and are passing through the New Forest, feel free to drop in for a cup 'o tea and a 'telling of secrets', I'm always here ;0)

Have a great time with your family Tif :0)
Take care xxxxxxxxx

dottie angel said...

thank you my dearies! no worries for my grandmother hook, she will not go in 'carry on', i am not good at dealing with balls of yarn and losing them under other folks plane seats! she will travel on trains and in cars with me instead :)

thank you kindly donna! and julia, have a lovely day with your sister. as for the straight sides, has been a few years of finally mastering it, i have no way of telling you, it is really more of a showing thing really. however take a look at YouTube, i am told it is full of wonderful clips which show how to do things like straight edges...
hope that helps you :)

cheerio my dearies, as always thank you kindly for your lovely words and see you soon...

Diana said...

Whether Carlos or Leonard doing the photography chores; your chickens are always the most photogenic. Have a wonderful away and my best to Louise Dearie.

L said...

I wouldn't worry about drsning your tights....the weather is lovely! But then again, knowing good old British weather...next week it could be snowing :)

Planet Fur said...

Oe Tif, those Chicken pictures are so wonderful...they're so nice 'n plump :-)

Ash said...

I have a selfish question: some time ago, you listed about having ordered your "very first ______ dress" and having received it in the mail, and I cannot for the life of me remember the name of the store, except that it was european and had lovely "granny" dresses. I'm brokenhearted and at a loss...I spent the morning practically reading your entire blog for the past 4 years! The reading was ever so lovely, but I still can't find the dress store. Help?

And happy travels! I can't wait to see your restocked etsy! :O)

dottie angel said...

haha heehee Marlous, i thought the same thing but said it in whispered tones, for chickens do not like the word 'plump' ;)

Ash, i am racking my little cogs here and cannot for the life of me think of what dress it could be. the only thing i can think of is myrebe which is on my sidebar. debby makes them in Calfornia by hand from eco and recycled fabrics. she has a wonderful website which highlights her collections and you can always contact her for more info on what her range is.
another place for granny frocks is whitestuff in the uk. can be hit or miss but when it is 'hit' they are oh so perfectly grannish. and best of all, they ship to the US and it is cheaper than buying in the UK because they remove the VAT on the cost.

hope that helps you my dear

thank you again my lovelies for your kindness :)

Candy Pop said...

I want some chickens! They look like so much fun!

Unknown said...

Enjoy your trip here, your blog is so gorgeous!
Have a sweet day!

paperbird said...

oh how i love these images- of course i am a chicken kind of girl! your banner is so sweet. i am hoping they are in the shop :-)

have a alovely time on your holiday dear dottie angel.

Ash said...

You're so kind to answer in such detail! Happy to see you home, and both shops you mentioned look just lovely! :O)