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Tuesday, August 30, 2016

My Heart Is Once Again Broken ...

Hello my dear friends,

my heart is so heavy once again. It has received another crack and I am so very, very sad.

Do you all remember several months ago I shared that a lovely cat had died that lived in our neighbourhood? His name was Marmalade and he wasn't actually my cat but he was my baby boy, my outdoor cat and he belonged to my heart.


It broke my heart when he died but it helped because his Mama was still around which made it a tiny bit easier for me to cope with him being gone. I would sit down with her on our deck, hug and stroke her and talk to her about him and the tears would flow every time. But she was there for me and me for her and I am sure she felt how upset I was and I knew she missed him too.

Yesterday I found out that now this cat, Patches was her name, has also died. I had a bad feeling something wasn't right since a little while. She has died and my heart is so very heavy again especially because I feel that her death could have been prevented by the owner which makes me very, very angry as well. Some people should not have animals!

So today I am remembering a lovely little Mama cat which I will miss so very, very much.




Patches was one of the cutest cat I have ever known and such a small little girl with a gentle purr and lovely personality to go with it.


She would spend hours on our back deck enjoying the peace and quite.


My outdoor babies ...


... I hope you will have so much fun together in heaven now.

These two beautiful animals have been a huge part of my life for just over 8 years and I am so grateful for every single moment of it.

I wish you all a peaceful day.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

My Very Own 'Charlotte's Web' ...

Hello my dear friends,

you all know how much I love taking photographs of nature and it's beings so you can only imagine how happy I was to find a stunning spiders web, suspended between our porch and one of the bushes that live in our front yard.

The bright shining morning sun seemed to emboss it with it's rays and depending how I looked at it, the sun gave it even a little rainbow coloring in places.

It made me think of the little spider in the movie 'Charlotte's Web' right away when I saw the little eight legged creepy crawler sitting right in the center of it. For some unknow reason, I didn't take a picture of it and I am not sure why I didn't. I think, I was just so happy with the web being there and I didn't want to disturb it's owner.

And this is my 'Charlotte's web' ...




... isn't it just beautiful and so intricate?!

I am so happy I took the few moments to capture this little wonder of nature yesterday because this morning when I went out on the front porch it was completely gone and the little spider too. This is another one of those little things in life that brings me joy ... a beautiful spiderweb and being able to capture it in a photograph.

Do come back soon some time and visit me here again at Todolwen ... you never know what I have been up too and might have to share.

I hope you are well my dear friends and life is treating you kind.

Have a peaceful and creative day.

Monday, August 22, 2016

The Little Things That Make Me Happy ...

Hello my dear friends,

today I am sharing one of those little things in life that make me happy.

It is my little African violet. I received it as a gift from one of my lovely neighbours over a year ago. It had many lovely purple flowers for a little while and then the little plant almost died on me.

I tried my best to keep it alive and even though some of it's green leaves turned pink with time, I didn't give up on it and this is why ...



... after almost a year, it now has new little flowers blooming!
And this is one of those little things in life that make me happy.

I wish you all one of those little things in life!

I hope you are well my dear friends and life is treating you kind.

Have a peaceful and creative day.

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Just Listed ... A Change Of Heart/Update . ..

Hello my dear friends,

just a very short post to let you all know that my 'pink egg' pincushions are now listed for sale in my Etsy shop. 


No.1


No.2 
Sold ~ Thank you

and last but not least ...



No. 3
Sold ~ Thank you

I am sorry to say that now pincushion no.3 is not avalable anymore but the first one I made, Pink Egg No.1 is still up for sale after all. (A change of heart happened)

If any of you are interested in either of my other two pincushions, why not pop over and take a look at them. Just head to the right sidebar here on Todolwen and to my Etsy button and it will take you right there. 

I hope you are well my dear friends and life is treating you kind.

Have a peaceful and creative day.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

My 'Mystery Mail' ~ Final Part ...

Hello my dear friends,

today I am sharing my third and final 'pink egg' pincushion.

This one is a different style than the first two but is just as neat as the other ones.

Just like with the first two, I have again taken photos of the outside first and just like the first two, this one too has it's nicks, dings and little quirks.

f



The stand for this one made of what I think are either metal feathers or leaves and is just so pretty.


Again as it is, it is so unique!

And here is the inside of my third lighter housing pincushion ...

... and just as lovely as the first two.


Keeping up with my other 'pink egg' pincushion, I again went with old tatting, vintage velvet and two little porcelain broaches. A lovely lady was so kind and informed me of the name of this type of jewelry. It is English and called ... 'Coalport'. ( I am always happy to learn something about any of my treasures!)







That was my third and last 'pink egg' pincushion and I hope you have enjoyed them all. 

They are each one a one of a kind creation and I am very happy with the way the have all turned out. Each one has it's own identity but they all are from the same 'family'. Tomorrow morning I will be listing my three newest creations in my Etsy shop just in case anyone  might be interested.

Thank you for taking the time to visit me here today at Todolwen. I hope you have enjoyed my newest creation.

I hope you are well my dear friends and life is treating you kind.

Have a peaceful and creative day.
.

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

My 'Mystery Mail' ~ Part 2 ...

Hello my dear friends,

today I am sharing the second pink egg pincushion.

It is made from the exact same style of  lighter housing just like the first one. Again with dings and bits of enamel missing and again in the lovely pink color just like the first one.



Keeping in mind that these 'eggs' are 50 years or older and are very well used, they do have their little quirks. This one's lid wouldn't stay standing up but fall back ...


... so I fixed this by adding a little sparkle piece from an earring as a stopper.

Last time I didn't share all the beautiful details of these old lighter housings with you ...


... so now just look at the trim. So much detail!

And the little legs that it stands on ...


... are just the neatest too!

All the nicks and dings make this piece just like the first one ...


... so special.

Opened up and looking at the outside and back of it ...



... and apart from the missing enamel, it looks the same as the first one.

You will see the difference between the two, when you turn it around and look at the inside!


A little piece of old tatting, vintage velvet and an old porcelain broach turned this old lighter housing into another neat pincushion creation.

I will just let you look at it in peace now without many words and I hope you enjoy my newest creation!









This was my second 'pink egg' pincushion and there is one more to share. I am hoping to do so in the next few days or maybe even tomorrow if nothing comes in between.

Thank you for taking the time to visit today here at Todolwen. It is always so nice when you do.

I hope you are well my dear friends and life is treating you kind.

Have a peaceful and creative day..

Monday, August 15, 2016

Early Sunday Morning ..

Hello my dear friends,

I just love early mornings so much ... everything is so peaceful.

These past few days it has been so hot and then came the thunderstorms and the torrential rain as well. Early Sunday morning I woke up at around 6.30 am. The rain had stopped, the thunder and lightning had moved on and the clouds had started to let the sun peek though. Everything looks so fresh and alive in our backyard. It was the perfect opportunity iforme to grab my camera and take the time to take some photographs of it.

Our dining room window was covered in condensation on the outside when I got up ...


... and our yard looked so green and inviting.


Our willow tree is looking so amazing!


Do you see the little Christmas tree underneath it? ...


It is gorwing so much. When we bought our house it was about 4 inches tall and just a little stick with needles and now it is just over 3 feet tall!


Looking up into the tree's branches ...


... it's like a waterfall of cascading leaves.


My little old bird feeder is still hanging on strong in our pussy willow tree.

And believe it or not ...


... I only discovered that I have a Hibiscus plant and it is blooming so nicely.
Actually it's two plants really ... one white and one purple growing together.




There are so many buds on the branches and I can't wait for them to all open up.

Of course a morning outside includes feeding my little furry critters too.


The fresh pieces of apple were the right thing for this little guy.



He sat on the deck and enjoyed the tasty fruit.

Back in the bottom of our yard, our riverbed looked stunning ...


... with the reflection of the sun in the leftover rainwater.


This must be the most favorite part of our garden. The willow is doing amazing and ...


... it's branches are almost touching the rocks in the river bed again.


But this also means that it is ...


... clean up time soon again with all the leaves and twigs falling.

My little rosebush was weighted down with the rain water ...



... but that doesn't take away from the beauty of it's flowers.

This little bud had it's own umbrella  ...



... which kept it safe from the harsh falling water drops.



The sun moved a little then started to shine ...


... through the branches of our maple tree. This is where our stone path ...


... has been overtaken by many wild daisy plants.

Everything was just covered in drops of rain ...



... and that's when it is the nicest being barefoot outside. It makes you feel a little like a child again.

Right at our stone path is the fence to our lovely Greek neighbours. They love the wildlife in their garden as much as I do and love to feed the critters too.

This rather wet and straggly cardinal was sitting on their wash line and ...


... was waiting to get a little dry again I think.

This little guy was just there for the food ...


... and he sure enjoyed it!

Every where you looked, there was something to see ...


... our holly bush had new leaves growing, ...


... where the leaves from our 'fairy bush' was already start to exchange it`s Summer green for Autum colors.

Just before I was going to head inside ...


... two little squirrels come on the deck again, ...


... so more apple pieces were needed and enjoyed too.

When turning around and trying to finally go inside again for the morning, I was happy to be stopped by the sight of this little furry baby. 

This little rabbit lives underneath our neighbours shed and ... 


... visits our garden almost on a daily base ...



... to have a nibble on some of our weeds ...


... and I am so happy he/she does because it just make my day.

And now you all know why I love early mornings so much and I wish you all an early morning to enjoy.

I hope you are well my dear friends and life is treating you kind.

Have a peaceful and creative day.