Such talent...

I first saw this lady
on a local news programme and I was so amazed at her work I wanted to share it with you. She makes all the costumes using machine and sewing the jewels by hand. I think they are wonderful!
Photos courtesy of this site.
Do check out her video too.

The Sittaford Mystery.

The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie.

A small country village is isolated by a tremendous snowstorm, therefore the residents must find ways of entertaining themselves. The two ladies who live in Sittaford house invite their neighbours to a social evening where a seance is begun.
As the table rocks to and fro and spells out names of neighbours not in attendance the group begin to panic . Continuing in this atmoshere the name of one gentleman is spelled out and then the word MURDER.
Running scared the party is concluded but when the said named gentleman is found dead at exactly the time of the seance people really do panic . To add to the excitement an escaped convict is on the prowl soon after...

A great 'Agatha' book, it kept me guessing right to the end. Highly recommended.

I'm a winner!

Having read 13 books last year for the Jean Plaidy reading challenge I have won an a prize. This is my choice of 2 books from the Jean Plaidy 'Arrow' books. I'm checking them all out on Amazon before I make my decision.
This was a great challenge, quite easy for me as I started collecting these books in the 1970's when they were 35p each.They are all fantastic books!
If you are keen to learn more about Jean Plaidy, check out this site.

Happy New Year!

Are you wearing your party shoes...

...if you are heading out to a party I hope you have a safe journey and enjoy the celebrations.
Thankyou all for visiting and commenting on my blog in the past year. It was good to 'meet' you all. See you in 2010.

The Prince of Darkness

The Prince of Darkness by Jean Plaidy.

The death of Richard the Lionheart places his brother, the infamous Prince John on the throne. He ascends the throne without little support from his family and the English people. Many believed that his brother Geoffrey's son Arthur would be better suited to rule, but John would have his way in this and many feuds throughout his tempestous life.
A cruel and callous man who enjoyed games of depravity and seduction he made many enemies including the pontiff in Rome and the King of France .
Married to Isabella of Angouleme who was twelve at the time, John fathered five children and probably many more outside marriage.In all his royal duties he never failed to show his demonic and sadistic nature, hence the title of the book.
His subjects knew of his wicked ways and ----

'The people said that the storm that blew on that October night(of his death) of the year 1216 was that aroused by the gates of Hell opening wide to receive the Prince of Darkness in his true domain.'

Another winner from Miss Plaidy , although not the most riveting one I have read.

Hercule Poirot's Christmas.

Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie.

'And families now, families who have been seperated throughout the year, assemble once more together. Now under these conditions, my friend, you musy admit that there will occur a great amount of strain.'

What better time than Christmas to gather the family together. That was Simeon Lee's plan. His sons and their wives all arrived as expected . There were a couple of uninvited guests too; both from abroad, but Simeon welcomed them all the same.
Gorston Hall was a large house, many rooms and passageways were available for criminal intent and revenge on everyone's mind.


'That'a another characteristic of the Lees--- they don't forget! They'll avenge a wrong if they have to wait years to do it.'

A quick read for Christmas week. This was a good mystery kept me guessing right to the end. Highly recommended.

My beautiful church

This was the scene before Midnight Mass at St. Mary's. The church' decorations are stunning. The candles lit,we awaited the placing of baby Jesus in the crib to complete the picture. An awesome sight.

Photos are courtesy of
this site.

Christmas Wishes.

Wishing you peace and joy at Christmas.

Christmas stitching and an early Santa.

The last few weeks have seen me sewing like crazy to finish the wallhanging in the photo. According to the pattern the pieces were patchworked into the background but I'm afraid there wasn't time for that so I appliqued them. It's my first wall quilt and I'm quite pleased with the result.
The next photo shows my grandaughter in the dress I made for Christmas, she has grown so much lately I'm really pleased with the fitting.

What can I say about the last photo ---- Santa certainly came early !!!

A new blog...

Say Hi to a NEW BLOGGER
Check out the new blog on the block. Written by a witty gent, I'm sure it will prove to be a great read... here is the link.

Any 'Cranford' fans out there?

What did you think of last night's episode? I loved it , especially poor Miss Poe's cage, what a hoot. The whole set and acting is fantastic and Rory Kinnear makes a wonderful devious Septimus!

Musing Mondays.

Here is this week's topic ---

Well, just in case Rebecca is still on hiatus (which I think she is, as I seem to remember her saying she’d be gone ’til after the holidays were over), I’ve decided to come up with my own question… So, this week’s Musing Mondays asks…
When you buy books, do they immediately go onto your bookshelf to wait until you’re ready to read them (even if that means months/years from then!), or do you read them right away? What makes you do this? If you’re a ’shelver’, why do you think you don’t read the books right away? Do you ever feel guilty for letting the books sit there, unread? If you’re a ‘read-em-now’ person, why do you feel they have to be read right away? Do you give away the books when you’re done, too?

My answer:
I'm ashamed to say I'm a 'shelver'. Just looking around this room I can see at least seven books bought this year and unread.That is only in this room, if I checked the bookcases upstairs goodness knows what I would find!
I am not on a guilt trip though as I do get around to reading most of them.

More book chat can be found
here.

Booking through Thursday

This week's topic is
Suggested by Barbara H:

What do you think of speed-reading? Is it a good way to get through a lot of books, or does the speed-reader miss depth and nuance? Do you speed-read? Is some material better suited to speed-reading than others?

I don't speed read very often. A few years ago when studying with the Open University I was introduced to speed reading and I did find it helpful at times when time was of the essence. Nowadays reading for pleasure does not include a rush for the finish so I take my time.

More discussions can be found
here.

Will his dream come true?

Will his dream come true... perhaps.
Above is the scene here today.

Christmas Plants

Good morning fellow bloggers! I feel as though I have neglected both my own blog and all your interesting posts. I thankyou all for the comments you have sent recently and I do intend to visit your blogs within the next few days.
Life is hectic(as I know it is for many at this time), the bathroom is progressing well but the house does seem a bit chaotic, bathroom furniture here , there and everywhere. On a positive note I have baked all my mince pies, all 36! Every year I think there are too many and every year they are eaten!Most of the presents are wrapped and cards are posted.
The photos show my lovely Christmas cactus and a baby one too. The larger one I have had for about 5 years and never fails to flower at this time of year, the small one I bought last year and really thought it had died till I saw a pink bud on one leaf. Maybe I will be lucky and it will grow in size, I do hope so , they add a cheery glow to the room.
Well, I must go and prepare lunch and then visit relatives with Christmas goodies.

Musing Mondays.

I can't believe a wholw week has passed since my last post. I has been an eventful week ;Christmas preparations and we are replacing our old bathroom suite.So there has been little time for postings. The bathroom is not finished yet so there will be few posts for the next week or so...
Anyhow this is today’s MUSING MONDAYS, a post is about library etiquette…


For the regular library patrons among us: do you have your own idea of what constitutes proper library etiquette? Is there anything you always try to do? Anything you hate when others do?

Well in my local library there are the usual signs regarding noise and mobile phones. These seem to be reasonable to me. The librarians do talk among themselves, but I suppose this is inevitable for work reasons.Mobile phone conversations are discouraged which is good as different conversations all around the library I would find very distracting.
On a personal basis I do try and limit my talking and turn my phone off on entering.
More library 'talk' can be found here.

Musing Mondays.

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about reading/blogging during the holidays…


How does your reading (or your blogging) fare in the holiday months? Do you read more or less? Do you have to actively make time to read?

Over Christmas my reading and blogging does take a 'back seat'. These times are usually busy with family and friends, and I feel it would be rude to sit and ignore the conversation. After all the hustle and bustle it's good to sit , relax and read.
More book 'talk' can be found here.

A Busy Weekend.

Yesterday was our church Christmas Fayre,it attracted quite a crowd . There were various stalls;crafts, cakes , tombola and the raffle stall. I helped with the raffle and we were all pleased to raise over £200 bringing the raffle total to over £1000. The prizes were varied from the the top prize of £100 to a box of chocolates, so there was much to please the public. The tickets have been on sale for a few weeks,therefore helping to boost the total.
After the fayre my husband and I spent most of the day and some of today delivering the prizes to various parts of the dale. This is always the best part of the weekend as people are always excited by their winnings.
So ends another successful fund raiser!

Now to start my Christmas shopping!

The Miracle at St. Bruno's.

The Miracle at St. Bruno's by Philippa Carr.

On Christmas morning the monks of an English abbey discovered what they later described as a miracle. The miracle was a child found in their crib. No parents could be found so the monks took the child as 'their own' and brought him up accordingly.All believed he had special 'powers' and as such grew into a very spiritual child.
Living nearby were Damask Farland and her parents plus their cousins. All were slightly in awe of the boy , but being children they liked to sneek the occasional glance through the boundary of the abbey.
This idyllic childhood however was overshadowed by the reign of the ruling monarch;Henry V111. His succession of wives all effected the children and monks . Which religion should they follow ? Both sides in this debate were in danger of losing their lives and the choices people made were to have devestating consequences.

Another excellent book by Phillipa Carr(Jean Plaidy/Victoria Holt). I felt that it showed the social structure of the country and how their King's decisions played a huge part in the lives of ordinary citizens.