Thursday blog hop.

http://Caroleecrafts.blogspot.com.  Please pop along and look at all the other contributors.

It is my youngest sons 35th birthday today and I have been reflecting on his life.  The happy go-lucky child and teenager who was mad keen on music and football, not as a spectator but taking part. The many friends who always seemed to be at the house at mealtimes.  The fun, the laughter.   When did it all begin to go wrong? When did the loves of his life cease to be football, music, family, friends and when did heroine become his mistress?
Eventually he became homeless and lived among the many, many homeless on the city streets. I became a familiar figure as I travelled to Coventry to walk the streets asking Big Issue sellers, buskers and other homeless if they knew where he was.  I heard so many sad stories from so many, young and old alike. 
Socks.  Always buy them woolly socks.  Remembering that they live 24/7 in their socks and only take them off when they rot so they are grateful for a continual supply.  I used to beg them off the markets for 6 pair for £1 and take them along to Jesus Army who distributed them.
This was one particular young lady....

She sat on the step,
Cold and wet,
but couldn't let
Anyone know her plight.

With brave face,
And luck makes haste,
 To a place
With a roof and a bed for one night.

Anger and strife,
This is her life
Poverty is rife
At the end of the tunnel, no light.

A sad truth,
Positive proof,
Humanity's goofed
These souls have lost the fight.

As a postscript.  He did survive it, we were so lucky.  So many others were not.

Handmade Monday and Kente Weaving.

Last year my lovely DIL Anna spent a little time in Ghana volunteering at Trinity Yard School.  As a token of her visit she brought me two small samples of weaving done by the older children.  This is called Kente Weaving and the fabric created is only worn on ceremonial occasions.  It has taken me a little time to decide what to do with these 8" x 4" panels but I finally sat down and incorporated them into cushion covers as a way of showing them off and preserving them.  The colours are amazing.
One is finished and the other is work in progress.

You must visit all the other blogs in this link and enjoy the offerings by the clever crafters who have joined Handmade Monday.  The link is www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/blog

I have very recently heard of two occasions of Fraud.

We see the words Fraud, Theft, Robbery, Mugging, but how many of us look behind the words at the ripple effect each one brings to family and friends of the victim.  It is fairly obvious that the perpetrators have no conscience of this.

They’ve been defrauded, what does it mean?
That evil beings have been on the scene.
And taken something they've no right to,
Things most likely treasured by you.

The pain and the loss cannot be born,
The rest of the family are violently torn.

They hate, want revenge, then some.

The ripples on the surface have begun.

Hardships and stress have now been caused,
A direct result of this defraud.

What type of person do we breed,

That take great pleasure in this deed.

Villainy is grossly out of hand,
Some make a living very grand.
Why doesn’t  society take firmer control
And bring these wicked ones back to the fold?

That’s another pebble on a much bigger lake,

Those at the top should make branches shake.
This tree of life must bring things in line,
The punishments must fit the crime.

This entry is for Thursdays blog hop via www.Caroleecrafts.com  May I respectfully suggest you pop along there and have a look at all the other blogs.  Some lovely things.

Oops. Handmade Monday again.

Nearly missed it.  Do pop along to   www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/blog  
and have a look at the lovely handmades there.  Well worth a visit.

What was life like before TV

Where we sit goggle eyed at anything to see.
And we glare at each other if one dares to speak,
Should we miss an occurrence in Coronation Street.

We sat round the kitchen table then.

Listening to a radio, using a pen.
Knitting, sewing and talking too,
In a tight family unit which included you.

We shared our lives, our food, our leisure,

And such simple things that gave us pleasure.
The concept of telly killed all that,
No social graces. We sit and get fat.

www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/blog

  

The seasons have gone mad

I still have flowers all over the garden and it is mid October. (Well you knew that, didn't need me telling you. lol).  We are certainly going to pay for this one way or another.  These Geraniums should be all warm and cosy in the greenhouse by now not basking in the Autumn sunshine.

Thursday Blog Hop.

I notice on the Craft Forum someone was asking for a poem to put in their card for their one year old Granddaughter.  I remembered on one of the twins birthdays I wrote a ditty.  It went something like this. 

Beautiful children

Of beautiful children
We count our blessings
That God has willed them.

There’s never a day

That passes by
That we don’t think
Or wonder why.

We should be

The lucky ones
But we are,
We have Grandsons.

It wasn't my intention to offer that as Thursday Hop offering but the following one. I was a bit maudlin when I wrote it so apologise for its dourness.

How precious is this life
Every minute, every day
Should we waste not a second
Or create no more fray

Do we get second chances,
Or do a backtrack some way?
Of life, of romances?
Can one call back a day?

How to use this time we're given,
How to leave your mark on life
How to make it great to live in,
Obliterate the need for strife.

On a much lighter note why don't you go to www.Caroleecrafts.com and visit all the other blogs taking part.

Handmade Monday

Tracey of Sunrise Cards made me two beautiful Dinosaur cards for the twin G/kids.  I made an error and showed them to my aged Aunt (Another Dinosaur) who immediately took possession of them saying "You don't mind do you?"  I ask you, would it have made any difference if I had.
I have made two more, not a patch on the first ones I might tell you and nothing to do with pre historic animals but the best I could do under the circumstances.

I have made them from scratch except the gold trim (Which I should not have used as it makes them look like Christmas cards.  The stripey coloured card I did using oil crayons and then photocopying it to prevent smudging.  All the rest you can work out for yourself.  What I have not showed you is that inside I have cartoony pics, nicked off the internet for this one off occasion, of little boys on scooters.   They are having scooters for their birthday.

You must visit all the other blogs, www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/blog

Thursday Blog Hop. (Caroleecrafts.com)

Three little monkeys

Sitting on a seat,

A little bit of sunshine

The picture is complete.

I had considered putting this on the flysheet of my little book, opinions would be appreciated.



Wear it Pink

I must apologise to all who read my blog regularly.  I am afraid life has got in the way of blogging lately, so much so that I missed Handmade Monday so sorry for that Wendy, I will try harder next week.  Looks like I might miss Thursdays blog hop too at this rate. Sigh.
On the bright side, I have written a ditty for Carolines (www.Caroleecrafts.com) support of Wear It Pink and inserted it into some prettied up cards.  This is for Breast Cancer and - don't quote me but - I think the minimum voluntary donation is £2 so what she is doing is sending donors one of these cards - well worth two quid I can tell you - as a thankyou. I will try to insert a pic.
You should have a look at her web page, there is some really gorgeous stuff there, not to be missed.