Today, I appreciate that there is a place in the world where people believe that one bookmark just isn't enough. You need five bookmarks in a set. And, they should be pink and covered in pictures of princesses. It's the small things that matter. ...
Just seven days left to go of the daily entries on my Gratitude Journal. It has made an enormously positive impact to my thinking and my general state of being. Now, I'm noticing the small things that make all the difference to a bad mood: a hot cup of tea, especially when the cup stays hot long after you've finished the tea. Sunshine warming...
Today, the most amazing thing came through my post box. FREE HUGS. A giant squid accompanied by an enormous collection of hand-written hugs. And pineapple lumps. I am so grateful to have a collection of incredible friends who just get me, and who send me hugs and love from the far reaches of the world when I'm feeling glum. How can you not smile...
My positive thought - and appreciation - for today is learning. I've always loved learning, and I'm so grateful that I still do. I originally moved to the UK with the vague thought that I'd pursue further studies in my genre of choice -- Fairy Tales and Feminism -- but the university fee structure changed so drastically when I got here that it...
The clocks went back today. It's not an awful lot of extra time, but at the end of a long day where nothing goes to plan, an extra hour to just sit and enjoy is rather lovely. Of course, I used my extra hour for knitting. Doesn't everyone? My positive thought is a calming and silent thanks for the extra hour of grounding, quietness...
Yesterday, the only thing getting me through the yuck of Saturday was the thought of Sunday. A quiet day, mostly all to myself. Set aside for reading, for catching up Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer by Jane Brocket and possibly trying out a recipe or two from the book, and maybe even a little bit of knitting on this project. I had every intention of sharing with...
It's been an awfully long day. I've been working at an enormous event for a client, and my feet, my heart, my soul are all equally tired. Today, I am grateful for a hot bath at the end of the day, and for my husband's company on the long train journey home (he came to meet me at the event in the afternoon)....
Today I have a really small moment of thanks to share. Tomorrow, I'm attending a massive event that I helped organise for a client. With just a few hours to go, I'm so very grateful that all of my equipment, machinery and suppliers worked exactly the way they were supposed to. The plotter cut, the thousands-of-flyers arrived in the nick of time, the designs...
And then, all of a suddenly, it was Autumn. Today, I had a quiet moment in the park as I walked home from the shop. I don't have to go through the park to get home - in fact, it's quite a bit quicker to skip it - but it's a walk I've come to love, even though the park is always full...
Today, I am grateful for fairy tales and forests, and for late nights reading Sara Maitland's Gossip from the Forest in time for Book Club, tonight. Thank goodness for stories. Thank goodness for fairy tales. Most of all, thank goodness for reading. ...
The only thing better than newly-baked cake is of course fresh bread, straight out of the oven. Last night, the whole house smelled of warm, yeasty granary bread. A small loaf, but that doesn't matter. It doesn't stop the warmth of bread from enveloping the house. The smell permeates every room - even through closed doors - and suddenly all you can think...
Today I am thankful for just-warm cakes cooling on a breadboard in the kitchen. The smell of the iced Spiced Honey Loaf cake is intoxicating, and you'd be forgiven if you can't help but break off a bit of Boiled Fruit Cake when you walk by. The crusts are the best bits. Best served warm on a cold wintery day, when the rain is pouring outside...
There's something really nice about receiving goodies in the post. The postman knocks once, twice and then hand-delivers a bubble-wrapped item. It's like your birthday - or perhaps Christmas? - a gift! It's even better when the goodies inside are fabric samples you ordered six weeks ago. Today I am grateful for receiving my Spoonflower Samples. I ordered them ages ago and they're finally here!...
Today I appreciate buttons - and small things that make me exceptionally happy. I've got a good collection of buttons in all manner of varieties - antique buttons, ancient buttons, plastic buttons, wood buttons, coconut shell buttons, polymer buttons, glass buttons - and they add such a burst of personality to projects. It's the final finishing touch that makes it a Stacey-made-this thingamajig. This...
Today I am grateful that my beautiful cousin (on the left) starting showing signs of improvement after being diagnosed with auto-immune encephalitis an age ago. It has been months, and just today I have had news that she focused - if just for a second - and blinked on command - if only just once or twice. It's something to hold on to. ...
Today, the thing that makes me most happy and that I'm most grateful for ... is a giant bowl of Granny's Rusks. They're definitely a bit(e) of happiness. Isn't it funny how comfort and memories are all tumbled into a single taste? I made these last week. They take around seven hours to bake and dry out, but are worth every second. ...
Today I am grateful for my three closest friends. No, they're not mice. They're real, honest-to-goodness amazing friends.They're continents apart, each of them, but still we continue to stay in touch and share. You know those friends you can speak to after months of not speaking, and everything just falls back into place, as if it had only been a few minutes? These ladies...
Today I am grateful for my sunshine flowers on a cold and rainy day. I caught a cold this weekend and spent almost all of my waking hours on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket, feeling quite yuck. Graeme came home with a bunch of the brightest, cheeriest flowers you have ever seen on Friday and they've been adding a bit of...
Today, my heart is soaring with appreciation and thanks to Arden, who brought back the most exquisite silk embroidery threads from her holiday in Morocco ... and then shared them with me! Skeins of silk sea greens, sky blues, soft coffee creams and natural bark browns adorn my craft table. They will likely be stitched into embroidered flowers - my favourite - but...
Today I am grateful for special moments, and being included in them. My beautiful friend Debs is getting married to the man of her dreams, and we're saving the date. Hello, South Africa 2015. ...
Today I am grateful for knitting and being inspired to knit. I picked up some needles and a Tivoli Tweed pattern a little over two years ago, and have been enjoying "my winter sport" ever since then. I'm still learning as I go along, but I really appreciate that I've found something I enjoy so much - and that continues to challenge me...
Today I am grateful for Graeme. My husband, my friend, my partner. Thank you for being on this adventure with me, and for supporting me every step of the way. Thank you also for not complaining about the yarn stash. I know you know where it is. x ...
Today, I am thankful for family. It doesn't matter where we are in the world, or what we're doing - - we will always have each other. Things, jobs, ideas, opinions, relationships, situations, and lives change. Families change too, but it's nice to know that there are people out there in the world who care about you and think about you often, and who...
This weekend, my amazing mother-in-law encouraged us to start writing a gratitude journal. Once a day, she said, the two of us should be writing down five things that we're thankful for. It can be a thought, something simple, an idea. Anything. Focusing on the positive will change the way you think. I've decided to accept the challenge, but with one thing a day for the next...
The waterpipe in my kitchen burst. My overlocker conked out. I had to cook dinner. My weekend disappeared into a flurry of domestic organisation, engagements and appointments. How is it Monday already? Last week I started knitting a small, soft baby blanket using a pattern from the Debbie Bliss Ultimate Book of Baby Knits. It's going to measure about 80cm x 80cm ......
Yesterday was one of those days. You know the kind? Stuff breaks. Things go wrong. It starts off badly. I decided to finish work earlier, refuse to accept that my day was ending the way it began. So, after my overlocker finally gave up the ghost and refused to work, I got out my watercolours and a few ink drawings I made a...
Sometimes you look and look and look. You hunt through bolts of fabric, scarves at markets and department stores, beautiful store displays. You're in no rush, but you still look - just in case. It needs to be just right. And then, you find what you're looking for, quite accidentally. This Swiss Cotton fabric, light as air, from Stitch Fabrics. Discovered while out at...
