Black Holes and Spring? Cleaning

You know the way some homes have Black Holes into which endless numbers of socks disappear so that you are left with an array of odd socks?
Well I've come to the conclusion that our house has a Black Hole designed especially for my KNICKERS! I apologise for airing my laundry in public, but I assure you that it is all clean as I know I put the items in the washing machine. Somewhere between loading and folding the clean laundry my knickers are gradually disappearing. A few months back I bought myself eight new pairs of VERY expensive lingerie- 4 euro the knick, no less (5.76200 USD), (don't laugh, it's dear for me) and I'm down to THREE.

In the immortal words of Queen Victoria (also my Great Grandmother): 'We are not amused'.
(btw Queen Vic wasn't my Great Grandmother, my G G was another person entirely!)


B had a brainstorm yesterday and spent the day tidying her room. Out of it came four bags of rubbish...

...a heck of a lot of laundry (not all of it her own clothes I gather from the howls of outrage which followed the laundry dumping)...
but the result is stupendously fabulous!

You can see the walls...

... and furniture...

...and FLOOR! Oh, is that the colour of the carpet?

I am hoping that since it was all her own idea she might keep it tidy for a while?!

Oh, and I take back what I said about having only a Knicker Monster in this house, seems we may have a Sock Monster too...
That's all folks!

Thankful Thursday!

Thou hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more- a grateful heart;
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if thy blessings had spare days,
But such a heart whose pulse may be
Thy praise.

George Herbert.

Last Thursday I came across this 'Thankful Thursday' meme (http://truth4thejourney.blogspot.com/2009/10/thankful-thursday-47.html), then LMB wrote about keeping a Gratitude Journal (http://littlemsblogger.blogspot.com/2009/10/five-simple-words.html) and I thought I would do both! I think that being grateful for what one has is very, very important!

So here are my 'Thankfuls' for this week, but since it was a good week it has been difficult to choose- other weeks may be difficult for the opposite reason!

1. This morning we got up to a fabulous sunrise. It had just been raining but the clouds cleared as the sun rose and the day became diamond sparkly and then golden. When I took the dogs out before breakfast the only sounds were hens, birds, snuffling dogs and the cows doing that huffing noise they make on cold mornings. It was a very serene start to the day.

(below) Can you see the sheep coming down off the Commonage? Time to get the unhardy plants in as there must be a frosty snap on the way- I love country signs like this.

I took this almost into the sunrise which is why its a bit overexposed, but also there was a cold mist rolling up the valley from Lough Doon which fuzzed it. Who could be ungrateful on such a morning?

2. The next one sounds really silly...I found a new packet of knickers in the back of my drawer! Oh the bliss of new knickers! When will manufacturers learn that a good pair keeps the elastic attached to the top for the entire lifetime of the knicker- i.e. until the seat wears out? Its awfully disconcerting when the body of the knicker slides slowly down your posterior in the course of the day but the elastic stays put...especially when I'm teaching and can't either take on the spot remedial action or rush out to the loo...

3. Have you heard Rhydian's album; its just called 'Rhydian'. He's a Christian and has chosen to sing not specifically Christian songs but they are all meaningful. The Hub has used some as a starter for the Message when he is taking Services, and we often play the CD at home in the evenings. B had it out last night as she intends singing the track 'What if' in her Music Exam and was working on intonation. I taught the children at school 'I believe' too. Its just uplifting music.

4.I am especially thankful that the Hub arrived safely at his Aunt's house last night. He left here about 4.30am yesterday morning to get the 8.20am ferry from Dublin. He texted a few times during the day when he stopped for coffee, once in Wales and once somewhere near Reading I think when roadworks brought him to a halt. He arrived safely in Surrey about 6.30pm, and I don't know who was more thankful, his Aunt or me! No small feat for a little African boy to drive all the way across Ireland and England in one day! His Mom arrives from East Africa this morning for a two and a half week holiday and is he excited! They are spending ten days in UK travelling to see all the relations, then coming across here for the last week. Granny Africa is the ultimate Mad Hatter and we all can't wait to see her!

5. And the last thankful is very personal: we've finally got the house finished enough (and tidy!) for me to be able to put my quilt frame up and hand quilt a new quilt. I love hand-quilting, I feel as though it connects me with the generations of women who have gone before and done the same thing, who stitched their hopes and dreams and fears and sorrows into their quilts over long days and weeks, who have made do with what they had, who have watched the seasons pass and children grow, and just been thankful for their blessings however small. I love the serenity of the stitching and the fact that it makes me accessible to the family while still keeping my hands busy. And I love the finished product, the look and feel and satisfaction of a hand-quilted quilt!

And there you have it!

And a final 'Thankful'- I'll be heading to school shortly to finalise my Singers for the Harvest Service on Sunday morning and I know they were beginning to get excited yesterday when they heard how much they had improved. I love shiny faces singing their hearts out and being allowed to work with them is a blessing in itself...although it has its moments of anxiety, as with small people things NEVER go quite as planned! Sunday's Service will be 'interesting' for all the wrong reasons!