241/365 Happy New Year and a few quick thankyous.

Happy New Year to one and all, I hope 2011 brings you all you could wish for, and more.

My blogging journey started in January 2010, and I have enjoyed it immensely. I'd like to say many thanks to Rachael for introducing me to blogging and for patiently answering my "How do you do that?" questions. Also many thanks to Janice for being my photographic inspiration, and again patiently answering my questions. Thirdly, thankyou to the lovely Charlie at House of Istria for all the self promotion tips. And finally a huge, huge thankyou to all my friends, old and new, and followers for reading my blog, and for passing comments, its great to know that someone is out there actually reading what I've written.

I've set up a new blog to chart my 2011 learning journey, I would love to share it with you, so please follow me here, thankyou.
Joy x x x

240/365 Special day

Years ending in zero have a special significance in our family, and this one was no exception.
Rog was born in 1950, and in March this year he celebrated his 60th birthday.
Oli was born in 1990, he celebrated his 20th birthday in August.
Marissa was born in 2010, and we all celebrated her birth in November
Eddie was born in 1970 - but only just - today is his big day, the day he reaches the BIG Four O.
A very Happy Birthday to my eldest son, and once again I have to tell you that I have organised a night of fireworks all over the land in celebration of your birthday.

239/365 New cards in the Phoenix range

I love my "day job" as a Phoenix trader, especially this time of year, when the new brochure is released with lots of lovely new card designs. The new 2011 brochures have been released early (they dont usually come out until the beginning of January) as sadly there is to be a price increase (due mostly to the increase in VAT) from the start of trading on 4th January. However you still have time to beat the price increase if you order from me by Monday 3rd January. Take a look at my website, where you can order, no need to pay until delivery, which should be approximately Monday 10th January. Just a sample of the new cards can be seen below. For the full range visit my website.




Phoenix always wrap their cards really well so they never arrive damaged, the only slight downside to that is the ever increasing amount of bubble wrap! I simply cant throw it away, it would be such a waste, so if you know of anyone who has a use for bubble wrap please put them in touch with me.



Oh, and please dont forget that I donate 10% of all my takings from Phoenix sales to the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Appeal, so not only is this an opportunity to save money, its also an opportunity to help a very worthy cause.

238/365 More macro

I may have mentioned this before, but I love macro photography, I love that you can get close enough to photograph something you might not be able to see with your eyes, well mine anyway! (even wearing my glasses). If you click on the pictures you'll get a larger version.
This first one is just a pattern of ice and snow on top of the water butt



this is a close up of the bird-feeder with fat balls



a page from the book I'm currently reading




christmas card, this shot has now become my avatar on blogger



Alex gave me some flowers, this is one of them

237/365 Knitting to order . . . .

. . . . is something I dont generally do, because if I were to charge a decent hourly rate I would price myself out of work altogether. So instead, I knit something I like, decide how much I think its worth and offer it for sale in my Folksy shop.
However, these head bands are an exception to the rule. They are £5.00 each, of which £2.50 goes directly to WAAA, you can choose your own colour scheme, i.e. one colour for the band and a different (or the same) colour for the flower. Delivery is approx one week from receipt of order.
So, go on, whats stopping you, you know you want one.

236/365 Project for 2011

I still consider myself a relative newcomer to the world of photography, only two years ago I didn't even know what the macro button was for! But over the past two years I've done a couple of short courses (one of which was far better than the other) and I'm beginning to know what it is I'm supposed to be doing with the camera. I'm also aware of how to do some very basic editing, i.e. straightening, rotating, cropping etc., but beyond that I'm still very much a rookie.
The second course I took, an Open University Short Course on Digital Photography, provided me with a free copy of Photoshop Elements 8, a very comprehensive editing software package which arrived with no user guide - assuming, I think, that most users were already aware of previous Elements programmes. During the course there were about a dozen or so short video tutorials showing some of the things that could be done with it, but as I was able to complete my end of course assignment without delving too deeply into the hidden depths, and as I didn't really know just how much there was available, after the course I just drifted back to my old simple editing programme.
It was just by pure chance when one of my online colleagues happened to mention that she also had the same software programme and that she had bought a manual to cover it, that the penny dropped. Aha, I thought, a manual, that should be a help. I am much better at doing things "by the book", so I had a quick search through Amazon, found the manual, and sent off for it. It duly arrived in early November, which my regular followers may remember was also the time that I bought a new camera, and went away to stay in Surrey with my son and daughter-in-law to help them when they had their new baby, my granddaughter Marissa. I took the manual with me and for several nights it was my bedtime reading material, but as I didn't have my PC with me, some of what I was reading didn't really make much sense. Then I came back home, put the book down on my desk next to my printer, where it has lain, unread and ignored for 5 weeks!
Until yesterday. Yesterday I picked it up again and started to read it, in front of my PC and with the software package on my screen, and do you know what, I actually started to learn things. Only simple things to begin with, like just finding my way around the tool box, and how to make pages appear and disappear, but various things that had left me foxed before started at long last to make some sense.
So now my project for 2011 is to work slowly through the manual, much like a baby learning to sit, crawl, stand and walk, a process which takes several months to complete. The manual is a whopping 624 pages long, so it will take me a while, but I'll be charting my progress in a separate blog starting January 1st, when I'll post a link to it and I hope you'll follow me in my journey of discovery.

235/365 December 25th chez Shallcross

234/365 Wiltshire Air Ambulance

Hello friends,
I've had a really successful month selling from my new Folksy shop, and I've been able to donate £22.50 to the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Appeal through my just giving page.
Phoenixwise I've had a very quite couple of months, due mainly to making the bulk of my Christmas sales in October, but my 10% donation for November/December was £4.00
You can view these donations (and make your own donation) by visiting my Just Giving page here.
My Cash for Cartridges total currently stands at £6.12, when the total reaches £25.00 they will send a cheque to WAAA, so please visit the website here, and if your cartridges can be recycled, please send them, quoting R9635 on the outside of your envelope.
Thanks for your support, I hope everyone has a wonderful Festive Season, and I send my very best wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year.

233/365 Why we celebrate "christmas"

Actually, we dont celebrate christmas in our house, we have instead what we call a post mid-winter solstice celebration, reason being we aren't christians and we have no religious affiliations whatsoever.
But we do send cards to our friends and family with seasonal good wishes, we exchange gifts with our nearest and dearest, we decorate a tree (albeit an artificial symbolic tree) and we enjoy a feast on 25th December. The big event for us actually starts tomorrow, which is the shortest day of the year.
You can read all about the winter solstice here, and about the significance of age-old traditions here.
So I am now taking a short break from blogging, and wishing all my friends and followers a very happy and enjoyable post mid-winter solstice festive season, and a Happy New Year.

232/365 Baby its cold outside

. . . . but if you still need to buy cold weather gear please pop along to my shop, where I have a variety of scarves, hats, blankets, and other lovely things for sale.
This is my listing for today.



Yesterday must have been the worst day of the whole year on the roads, according to last night's TV, so guess what, Oli decided it was the day he was going to make his way home from Bournemouth to Devizes - I had previously emailed him to suggest that he came back on Friday, but no, he knew best! Well, I guess on the whole he was reasonably lucky, he got the bus to Salisbury which both left and arrived on time. However once at Salisbury the connecting bus to Devizes was nowhere to be seen. So in the mean time we were at home researching alternative ways for him to cross Salisbury Plain (but not, as Gilbert and Sullivan suggest, on a bicycle). It appeared that he could go to the Railway Station and catch a train to Westbury, where we might be able to pick him up, but then looking at South West Trains website all trains into and out of Bristol Temple Meads were cancelled, so that option was off. Looking on the Wilts and Dorset bus website it seemed there were no buses running either, so you can imagine his delight when, after only about an hours wait, a Devizes bus turned up. Not only that, but as it usually does a twisty turny journey calling at lots of small villages and this time it was going to stick to the main roads only, the journey was 40 minutes instead of 80. So having left Bournemouth at some time before 2pm and arriving home approximately 50 miles away at just after 6pm, at an average speed of 12.5 miles per hour, we dont think he fared quite as badly as some other travellers yesterday. Welcome home, Oli.
And now both my "chicks" are back in the nest for a little while.

231/365 Stripy socks and other things

I have lots of pairs of stripy, over-the-knee socks that I wear under joggers at this time of the year, here's my pink pair



Yesterday I unpacked my Phoenix delivery of new January release stock, there are some really beautiful cards, and these are still available to purchase at the pre-increase prices, please have a look at, and order from, my Phoenix website (click on NEW to see the full range of new release products)




All phoenix products arrive double wrapped in bubble-wrap, I reuse some of it if I send stuff out in the post, but the rest gets saved "for a rainy day". As it doesn't rain that much in my studio I am accumulating bubble wrap at an alarming rate, and I'll soon be drowning in it. If anyone would like some, or knows someone who could use it, please leave a message in my comments box, or email me direct.




Last week I bought some new plastic see-through boxes for my yarns, which fit beautifully on my lovely new shelves. See if you can guess my favourite colour.




Starlings were fighting for a place on my bird feeder, here is the victor

230/365 Another day, another dollar . . .

. . . well slightly more actually - I've just made another sale on Folksy, woohoo, my third in less than three weeks. I'm finding it difficult to stock my shop, every time I add another item I sell something, but it would be churlish to complain about that!

Todays listing can be seen here




Reverb10 for today

December 17 – Lesson Learned What was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year? And how will you apply that lesson going forward? (Author: Tara Weaver)

The lesson I learned this year is that you are never too old to learn. Back at the end of 2009 I signed up for a 10 week Open University course which took place in May/June/July 2010. At first it was quite a struggle getting my brain to function, but the more I tried, the easier it became and I really, really enjoyed it.
How am I going to apply it going forward? By attempting to learn several new skills over the coming months, my aims for January are to get to grips with my Photoshop Elements 8 software package and to enhance my crocheting ability. For February, well I'm not sure yet, when I've thought of something I'll let you know.

229/365 The Bridge

Rog and I went to Salisbury yesterday morning, and on the way back, in desperate need of some liquid refreshment and a bite to eat, we detoured from the main A360 route home, and meandered instead through the Woodfords in the Avon Valley. We soon came across the Wheatsheaf in Lower Woodford, where I had been before back in the spring with my fellow Misians, but it was absolutely packed with Christmas lunch revellers and we couldn't even make it to the bar. So back to the car and travelled a few more miles, passing through Middle Woodford (no pub) until we reached Upper Woodford, where we spied The Bridge. What a discovery, it was lovely. The couple running it were French, although their English was excellent, as was the service and the food. Rog and I shared a bacon and avocado baguette, which came served with a portion of chips and a green salad, plenty enough for the two of us even though it was billed as a "lite bite".
I took a couple of photos from the car park, as they are right next to the River Avon, by a fancy brick and stonework bridge, but on looking at the website I see exactly the same two pictures taken on a sunny day in summer, rather than a grey day in winter, so please have a look at the website, and if you are ever near Salisbury or Amesbury, do pop in, you wont be disappointed.

228/365 Mr. Robin, some coasters and my Out Tray

Mr. Robin perched on my front fence, all puffed up to try to keep himself warm.



Rog and I went to Salisbury this morning, so I'm a little bit behind with my deskwork today, I haven't done my December Elves listing in my Folksy shop yet, but this is what it will be, a set of hand crocheted coasters.




This my out tray the other morning, with lots of goodies wending their way to the Post Office and then onwards out into the big wide world. I love the "dots and spots" tape, I kept the Merry Christmas one for myself, but you can see some of the rest of the range in my Groovycart shop. There are 5 designs listed, but if you would like to see more, please PM me.




And finally Reverb10 for today
December 16 – Friendship How has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year? Was this change gradual, or a sudden burst? (Author: Martha Mihalick)

Not one friend, but many. Just over two years ago we downsized and left busy, noisy Outer London/Surrey for Wiltshire, in order to slow down a gear or two and take life at a more leisurely pace. Its not easy, at age 62, to move to a new area and make new friends - when you are younger, and especially if you have children, there are endless opportunities, school gates, PTAs, Cubs/Brownies, work etc. but at my age, with an empty nest, and particularly because I'm not political and dont do Women's Institute and stuff like that, its a different matter. After the first couple of months my cousin invited me to join Facebook, which I did, and from there over a period of time I discovered the opportunity to sell online and to blog. This was a real eye opener for me, at first I thought you could only be friends with people you knew in real life, but I have since learned that its really a wonderful thing to befriend others, even if you will never meet them. There are so many wonderful people out there in cyber/blog land, some with the same likes and hobbies, some the same age but with completely different hobbies, and others with whom you dont actually have a lot in common at all, but who are still nice people. All of my new friends, and some of my old ones too, have taught me during the course of 2010 that it is not possible to have too many friends, there are always other people out there who are able to offer an alternative perspective on almost anything, advice on anything you care to ask about, a shoulder to cry on if you need one, wonderful humour, and unqualified friendship. Thank you all (again).

227/365 How exciting!

The WAAA have a fairly new fund-raising team, with whom I have been exchanging emails, and they have asked me to pop in and say "hello" to them in the New Year, and have a look at the helicopter, I'm so excited.

In the mean time I had another sale from my Folksy shop yesterday, wow, that two sales in two weeks! I wonder why I stayed with MISI for so long, I guess it was just because the people (other sellers) on there are so nice, it certainly wasn't the site administrators, who seem to have abandoned ship. Here is my Folksy listing for today, you can view it here.



and now for todays Reverb10

Prompt: 5 minutes. Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010.

The main event from 2010 was the birth of my first granddaughter, and staying in Surrey with the proud parents to help them through the first couple of weeks.
Rog and I spent a magical and very short weekend in Devon, revisiting a few favourite places from when the boys were young, and just spending time on our own together away from home.
I learned a lot from my OU course, I would hate to forget any of that.
The renovation of an old shell of an outbuilding in our garden into an office and a studio has given us both a huge amount of personal space and I've had a great deal of enjoyment just filling it up with all my bits and pieces.
Janet's surprise 60th birthday party at Tollesbury, to which I was secretly invited by her daughter-in-law Sue, was a great day, and the look of joy on her face when I turned up will live with me for a very long time (she was totally unaware that I was coming!).
We've had a few visitors this year, friends and relatives, Kate and Steve on their way home from Wales to Felixstowe, Tom and Catherine on their way down to Devon from Surrey, Sandy, Gareth and Sam from Australia doing England and Europe in 6 weeks, Ed and Junko on their way from Surrey to Wales, and my Mum has been to stay a couple of times for a few days.
And thats about it, simple pleasures make the best memories for me.

226/365 One of the chicks is back in the nest . . .

. . . only temporarily, but its nice to have someone to feed and spoil for a little while. Alex is home for a few days, then he's off to see some mates in Surrey, and back here again for Christmas. And as far as I know, Oli will also be here by next weekend, weather permitting.

I listed a couple of items in my Folksy shop today, I really love this hat, if no-one buys it I might be tempted to keep it for myself.



But these mittens wont fit me, and it will be several years before Marissa's little hands grow enough.



Todays Reverb10

Prompt: Appreciate. What's the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it?

I most appreciate the wonderful community of people out there in cyberland, blogland, online selling/forums etc. I have made so many new friends this year, its been an amazing eye opener and a real journey of discovery for me. Now I even have a whole new bunch of friends that I met online, but who live close enough to become real friends. So to all of you out there who know me via MISI, Folksy, through Facebook and Blogger, and the craft forums a very big THANKYOU for all your friendship, kind words, support and just for being there.

225/365 Various

Had quite a weekend one way and another, although for the life of me I cant remember what we were doing to make it pass so quickly.
I did have my very first sale on Folksy, which was a wonderful surprise, and I had an order for a couple more headbands from the lady who bought the last one, so I shall be busy on those this week.
I had problems uploading pictures to my Folksy shop, I tried on my PC which has an older version of Firefox, I tried on Rog's PC which has a newer version of Firefox, and I tried on the windows PC which has Internet Explorer, and it wouldn't work on any of them. I thought it was probably at their end, as I had no problems uploading to Facebook or Blogger, so I emailed Folksy support and they were very helpful, telling me what they thought the problem might be. Then, this morning, Rog decided our router needed rebooting, and lo and behold I can now upload pictures to Folksy, so the problem was right under my desk after all!
This is the blanket I put in my shop today, only I have to say that the picture as it shows on here is very unflattering to what is really quite a pretty blanket, in shades of pink and edged in lilac (not grey as it appears here!)



And now to catch up on the Reverb10, days 11-13

December 11 – 11 Things What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life? (Author: Sam Davidson)

Gosh, I'm not sure I can find 11 things I'd like to get rid of, but here goes:
1) Like a few others I could do with getting rid of about 20 kilos of body weight - diet and exercise should help and then I will feel comfortable and happy in my skin and my clothes.
2) I sure know I could manage to live without back-ache . . . (as above)
3) . . and stress incontinence (after 4 babies my pelvic floor muscles are useless, and getting worse as I get older!) - pelvic floor exercises!
4) I would like to get rid of an extremely unpleasant next-door-neighbour, but failing that I would like to get rid of the feelings I have for him which are spoiling my otherwise comfortable and happy life. Each time he pops into my mind I must focus on something pleasant instead.
5) I seriously cant think of anything else, I am very happy with where I am in my life, physically and emotionally, and I dont want for anything personally.

December 12 – Body Integration This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present? (Author: Patrick Reynolds)

We like to climb hills, and often at the top of a hill when I can see for miles, especially down here in Wiltshire, I have this feeling of calm and wellbeing and at peace with myself.

December 13 – Action When it comes to aspirations, it’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. What’s your next step? (Author: Scott Belsky)

Susan Jeffers has a saying, which I try to live by - feel the fear and do it anyway. So next year I shall work through my fears and DO, rather than just THINK.

224/365 Reverb10 part 2

Reverb10

December 6 – Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it? (Author: Gretchen Rubin)
I'm a knitter and crocheter and I make things all the time, I've made a lot of things this year and will continue to make lots next year, some as gifts and some to sell. I knit or crochet while watching television, I cannot bear to watch television (except a football match) without needles in my hands, as television is such a time waster.

December 7 – Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? (Author: Cali Harris)
In 2010 the community I found was a group of like-minded ladies who all take part in monthly photographic challenges. During 2011 I am hoping, along with several other crafters, to inaugurate a monthly Artisans Market at which we can sell our hand-made items to members of the public.

December 8 – Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful. (Author: Karen Walrond)
I've never really been one to follow the crowd, much rather be doing my own thing. I dont wear make-up, if you dont like what Mother Nature gave me then tough! I dont colour my hair or paint my nails, I am au naturel, warts and all.
I dont watch much TV, cannot stand reality shows, I love football.
I dont much like wearing dresses or skirts, much happier in joggers or jeans, and I dont do jewellery apart from engagement and wedding rings. I tend not to argue with people, I would rather say nothing than get into any sort of argument.
I love the countryside, the peace and quiet.

December 9 – Party Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans. (Author: Shauna Reid)
I am not a party person, the last large social gathering that rocked my socks off was my eldest sons wedding in 2009.

December 10 – Wisdom Wisdom. What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out? (Author: Susannah Conway)
Oh what a hard question, I'm not sure, even at the ripe old age of 62, that I do wisdom!

Gosh, I'm being pretty negative here, aren't I?

223/365 Pretty in pink

Junko has sent me some more pictures of Marissa, including this one, in which she is wearing lots of the things I have knitted for her, the cardi, the jumper under and the shoes. Doesn't she look simply gorgeous (well I know I'm biased!)?

222/365 Reverb10

Mama Syder put me on to Reverb10, which runs from 1st to 31st December. Having only just found it I've got a bit of catching up to do, so here are days 1-5, I'll do days 6-10 tomorrow and then on sunday I'll do 11 and 12, then I'll have caught up.

So,
December 1 – One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you? (Author: Gwen Bell)
My word for 2010 is photography. Last year, 2009, I did a short 5 week course on "knowing your digital camera" at the Wiltshire college in Trowbridge. The guy who ran it was a brilliant photographer, and as he may be well known in photography circles I wont actually mention his name, because he was an absolute CR*P teacher, he knew his stuff, but was completely unable to understand that some of us needed to go right back to bare essentials - which I did. So with my appetite whetted, and being cross at not having gained much from that course, I signed up for a 10 week Open University course on digital photography which ran from 1st May to mid July 2010. It was only supposed to be 10 hours per week of study, but I was so immersed in it, it became almost full time, and took over a large part of my life for those 10 weeks. I got my results in September, I had passed the course with a mark of 66%, and whilst pleased that I had passed, was disappointed to have not achieved a higher mark. Since then, to cut a long story short, photography has become a passion which I indulge myself in almost every day, and which I love.
My word for 2011 would be Wonder. I would love for 2011 to be a wonder-full year.

December 2 – Writing. What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it? (Author: Leo Babauta)
I'm not quite sure about this one, I do lots of writing each day, and spend more time writing than I probably should, so perhaps I ought to think about doing less writing instead, and more photography.

December 3 – Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors). (Author: Ali Edwards)
Gosh, this is a hard one. Rog and I spent a couple of days in Devon back in October, and on the return journey we re-visited Dartmeet, a spot we often went to when our boys were younger. It was quite early in the morning, the sun was low and the shadows were long, there was a touch of frost on the ground, the sound of the rushing water over the huge stones was the only sound we could hear, it was a magical moment.

December 4 – Wonder. How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year? (Author: Jeffrey Davis)
I dont think I did cultivate a sense of wonder in my life this year, which is why I have put it as my word for next year.

December 5 – Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why? (Author: Alice Bradley)
Not a complete letting go, just a postponement really. My Mum has spent Christmas with us every year for the last I cant remember how long, but this year, at age 86, she has decided that she doesn't want to do the journey or risk the possibility of becoming stranded away from home if the weather were to turn bad, so she will not be spending Christmas with us. I have had to accept that that is her decision, and instead make plans for a family "Christmas" get together in the spring when the weather improves.

221/365 Mini Misi meet-up at the Lansdowne Arms

What a lovely evening was had by all at the Lansdowne Arms, at Derry Hill. We are a group who came together because we are all crafters, all living in Wiltshire and all selling (in the loosest sense of the word) on MISI.
Starting from the left we have Jean and Janice, who together are Talking Beads, next is Marianne, who is Jewels of Isis, Rachael, who is Rosytint and Blue Shed Crafts, Ali, who is (and has) Magic Making Hands, next is Paula, who is Tazbride, then Mo of MornieG and finally me, Joy of Joyknitt and Kate Blankett



As a fairly fluid and dynamic group, some or all of us meet up several times a year for food of some sort or another, more often than not cake is involved, talk about this and that, and put the world to rights. Hope you all have a lovely Christmas, girls, and looking forward to possibly some more interesting times next year.

220/365 Yesterday

This is yesterdays blog. I didn't write a blog yesterday for the simple reason that on Wednesday I spent almost the entire day sat at my desk doing things on my PC, so yesterday I decided to give myself a break.
So what was a retired stay at home housewife doing all day at her PC I hear you ask.
Firstly I did my daily listing on Folksy, then blogged about it, posted it on Facebook and Twitter and also wrote about it on the Folksy forum.
Next I paid a quick visit to the MISI forums and made a couple of postings. I have emptied my shops on MISI as I no longer have much faith in the site as a selling medium, but I still have so many friends on there I need to keep popping back to "speak" to them on the forums.
Then I had a whole load of photos to upload from my camera and edit.
Then I had a couple of months worth of photos to burn on to CD (twice) to make sure they are safe and cannot be lost.
I sent a couple of emails to overseas friends, I ordered a couple of things on line and I played a few games of Bejewelled Blitz on Facebook. And so it goes on. It hardly seems possible that one could spend an entire day in front of a machine when one doesn't go to work, but there you have it - I did.
Yesterday was a nice break, apart from just sending a couple of emails to friends I spent the day away from my desk.
I didn't even get my camera out, so here is a picture of Marissa that Junko sent me last weekend.

219/365 Some more frosty pictures and a puzzle

Yesterday it was REALLY cold - I dont mean cold like they have in Scotland, but cold as we have in Wiltshire, it was about minus 4 (maximum) for most of the day, but it made everything look so pretty.












And here is a puzzle for you, what do you think this is? Answers in the comments section please.

218/365 Headbands, gloves, a little bag

I've made a couple of headbands/earmuffs to order, roughly copied from the one in the DFS advert. This one was posted off yesterday to a lady in Nottingham. I charge £5.00 each, of which £2.50 goes to the WAAA, so if you would like one made, just let me know your colour combination. Leave me a comment, or email me at joy.shallcross@btinternet.com



These lovely soft pale blue gloves were listed in my Folksy shop yesterday,




and this little evening bag will be posted today.




I've had my shop open on Folksy for just over a week now, I haven't sold anything yet, but yesterday I was mentioned in Uniquelyyours blog, she has listed lots of items from the December Elves listing club, of which I am a member, and my cushion is quite a way down the list, but its my first mention from another Folksy seller, so I am chuffed to bits. Lots of my erstwhile fellow Misians are also selling on Folksy now, so why not check it out for those last minute Christmas handmade buys - much easier than struggling to the shops.

217/365 Frosty

We dont have any snow left here, but this cold, frosty weather makes for some interesting photo opportunities.
Here is the swan pair and some ducks on the tiny little unfrozen area of the Crammer.



Leaves on a new shoot on the buddleia tree




and a rose in next door's front garden

216/365 New listings on Folksy and other stuff

Two new listings in my Folksy shop today, as I just ran out of time yesterday - there was a free listing day on ebay which I took advantage of, and I find I can only do so much listing!
A cushion



and a girls scarf.



I thought you might like to see the oldest and youngest of my female relations together, my 86 year old Mum and my 3 week old granddaughter.



And finally a lovely surprise from my friend Miss Creativity. I made her a knitted headband, as per the one in the DFS advert, a while back, and she sent me this lovely bag. Thanks Beverley.






A few days ago I told you about my New Years Resolution and I said I was going to start a new blog for my Folksy listings and just use this one for my photography. But since then I've been thinking and it makes more sense to keep my shop listings on my JOYKNITT blog, since they are mostly knitted or crocheted, and to start a new one for the photography and other things, so I am about to start a new blog in readiness for 1st January 2011, and it will be called "Never Too Old to Learn", I hope you will all follow me on there through the trials and tribulations of trying to teach an old dog new tricks.