Saturday 14 December 2013

Christmas Gift Swap and More

Hello, hello, are you still there for me my friends? I have been absent without leave for a wee while - been a bit unsettled and out of balance so haven't posted, and only in the past couple of days have I left a few short messages here and there on your lovely blogs. Now that I seem to be getting myself back into synch I'm hoping to gradually catch up with all of you for I've really been missing you and your news and makings!

First of all I really want you to see the lovely gifts I received recently from Leeanne, all the way from South Africa! Leeanne and I were paired up in the Christmas swap so kindly organised by the sweet and lovely Marianne - thank you so much Marianne - and do pop over and have a look at Ladybird Diaries if you are not already familiar with Marianne and her beautiful work and blog!

I would also encourage you to visit Leeanne at her little spot for she crafts lovely little makes, and I admire her even more now that I have her lovely decorations in my possession - and to think that this lovely girl made all of these whilst in the midst of packing up and moving house - I am really thankful  for this huge endeavour with such wonderful results, Leeanne! Thank you m'dear!



Now can you see all the wonderful effort that went into this parcel - even some music to cheer the postie on his/her way. Then the inner parcel containing the lovely card and bow which, coincidentally, is formed from an old map which names places that mean a lot to Hubby and I - stirring up the memories of old haunts - and look at those sweet little stars and pearl buttons which are now strung up in our lounge window. That beautiful origami star in the middle pic is so intricately put together then decorated with gorgeous shiny hearts and the very clever pompoms have lovely blue edging covered with sparkles - adorable! Well done Leeanne, and we will enjoy  these beautiful treasures for years to come!



On my previous post I spoke of how the lovely Meredith inspired me to try my hand at mug cosies and since then I've branched out a bit and experimented with various looks, ideas, and yarns, and have generally been busy making them for gifts, filling orders, and selling, so that has been quite wonderful! Thank you again Meredith - I love you and your blog! 


Do have a little look!



I also have crocheted a few little stars and the like over a period of time and finally put them together; these have been so enjoyable to do and I especially love the first banner with a little variety. What do you think?



One lazy afternoon I came across this little Piggy in a Simply Crochet magazine and couldn't turn the page without first bringing him/her to life  . . . . . I suppose being pink it should be a 'she' . . . .



Just a quick pic of a couple of yachts that were part of the Round the World Race which pulled into Albany (Western Australia) a couple of weeks or so ago before continuing on their journey out into the Southern Ocean - next stop South America. My lovely Hubby took these pics and would have been happy to snap a few more but couldn't get near enough to them. Beautiful beasts aren't they!



I must show you my blushing rose once more - please be patient with me for I am so enamoured with this beauty I can hardly take my eyes off her - just a little bit of cheer if you are suffering nasty cold frosty/snowy weather where you are in our lovely world!



And speaking of our World/Earth: this is where every day we get a fresh start, every baby step makes it easier, and every smile makes you, and those around you, happier!

Keep smiling - be happy - and keep well!

Thank you so much for being here, you're always welcome at my place, and just in case I don't manage to do another post before Christmas - I wish you and your loved ones the most wonderful Festive Season, filled with magic, happy family times, and love, above all else!

Warm hugs and much love,

Joy xoxo


Saturday 30 November 2013

A Little Relaxation

A bright and breezy hello to all of you, and special welcome to my new followers! I have managed to get here a couple of days earlier this week which surprises me no end for overall I have been busy but, a little relaxation did come into play just yesterday - see what I mean . . . .



A little cheese and wine (Moombaki of course) for those who can tolerate such things, and because the sun decided to shine again we then took ourselves outside into the garden for a little wander . . . 

This is our Blushing Knockout Rose now ...




And below is how it was just a few weeks ago - you may remember me posting about it! It looks like she will need to be planted out in the garden, rather than being left in a pot! She's done well hasn't she!
 

We also checked out our Ginkgo Biloba tree - a lovely deciduous that is quite slow growing and looking at her best right now . . . . 




Apart from little garden glimpses, here is what I've been busy with this week and it's all crochet this time - you know by now that I like to 'ring the changes'!

First off I made three face washers/flannels - whatever you call them in your part of the world - a beige with navy trim to suit a man, simple enough using just trebles and double crochet (English terms), and a pink with  mauve edge and a blue grey with aqua edge for ladies - the pattern for these two originally came from the book Granny Square Crochet by Catherine Hirst, but, because my cotton yarn was finer than that used by the author I continued on with a few extra rounds and also added an extra chain on the corners from about halfway through, otherwise it would have curled up a bit I think.



I also felt inspired by lovely friend meredith to crochet a few mug cosies - do take a look at Meredith's blog if you don't already know her, she's such a lovely sweet person and her 'makes' are always gorgeous. Her mug cosies are delightful and I took her idea for the button and chain fasteners for three of mine but my shapes are a bit different and I'm afraid my edgings are not as neat as I would have liked either!  Anyway, first pic below on the left,  the mug with the orange button is a pattern from Simply Crochet Issue 2, and the green buttoned one top right is from the Granny Square Crochet book again, but my mug was deeper than the pattern allowed for so I worked an extra round as a border.



I may as well give you a few views while I'm at it eh!



Can you believe that I forgot, previous post, to show you the little Sister and Mum I crocheted for little Hetty Hedgehog …. I think my brain wasn't working too well last week but let's blame it on the migraine and take that subject no further!!!

Here's the three of them together - no, there's no Dad yet - these little spines take a lot of working so I'll think about him for a while longer for he needs to be bigger yet - well, you know, being Dad and all, he has to be bigger doesn't he!




I'm going to finish off now with some quick snaps of my zucchini flowers because they are so bright and cheerful . . . . 




I don't know how clearly that first pic on the left is showing on your screen but the plants had just been watered and that leaf seems to be showing a reflection - I can't quite fathom it out but I thought it interesting anyway - what do you think?


Wishing you all happy times whatever you are doing and once again I take this opportunity to say a very big thank you to each and every one of you for your sweet and kind comments and wonderful interactions that take place among us in blogland - I value your friendship very highly and am so happy that I took the plunge into blogging and was gifted with your lovely fellowship!

Special thoughts and love to those of you who are having difficulties of any kind!

Joy xo

Monday 25 November 2013

A Mixed Bag

Hello my friends - thank you for being here and for your lovely messages which are always such a pleasure to receive and so encouraging for me! It's been so nice catching up with all your posts too, and enjoying your creativity, although I have been a bit late now and then!

Everytime I get around to posting I think there isn't much to show you but then am usually surprised once the pics start to upload (or is it download, I always wonder about that) from my camera; this time is no different so lets make a start and see what we come up with!

First off the crocheted flowers that you would have seen on my previous post have now found a nice little spot to rest, and I think they look quite happy - what do you think?

I almost forgot to mention that I saw these flowers hooped up in Issue 9 of Simply Crochet!




After settling these little blooms in I hooped up some little fun pictures which would be suitable for a child's room, I think! This fabric was another craft square - 'Forest Christmas All Over' it's called - that I cut into and backed with the cotton wadding, same as for my other hoops. After completing these I then had afterthoughts about them - perhaps I could have stitched into them to outline the main character in each one, but I haven't really felt like taking them apart and starting again - yet! It is a thought for next time though!




And here are close-ups of the main little characters - the pics are not as clearly defined as I would have liked but they are cute little fellas aren't they!



A few days ago my very kind neighbour left me a big jug of sweet peas at the front door - what a lovely surprise! I do love these 'sweet' little flowers but don't really have space to put a frame up and grow my own, so I have been thoroughly enjoying my lovely gift! You can tell that my neighbour likes the same colours that I like!


Aren't they just gorgeous! And aren't I blessed!


I've been having difficulty with my teas lately: real tea is too acid for me so I either go for herbal types or else its hot water with lemon juice, but the enjoyment of my 'tea' supplies had totally left me and I'd even resorted to the odd cup of coffee, knowing that it didn't agree with me but hoping I'd got over that problem, which I haven't!!! Anyway, I have really enjoyed rose tea in the past so popped into our local shop to see if they had any - which they didn't, although they do have a great range - but, they had one I'd never come across before that looked like it might be worth a try . . . . . . . 


. . . . . . . and it certainly was, and is! The blend of rose with chamomile and lavender is divine and I'm very happy to have found it, especially as it's meant to warm my heart too!!! 


While in the kitchen it crossed my mind that you might be interested in having a sneak peak into my other creative area in my home so here are a couple of snaps of my shelves . . . .


Those little mice are from  a boxed set that came with three stripey balls, so they are in fact a Skittle Game but to me they're just my little mice in the kitchen - much better than real ones, I would say!!! 


Now how about another wee walk around the garden while the sun is shining . . . 

Another lovely rose, a climber this time, and he is Pierre de Ronsard - such a prolific bloomer but sadly with very little perfume. Then we have those gorgeous pink blooms, so fairy light, waving to us in the gentle breeze - they are called butterfly something or other! This honeysuckle was grown from the smallest cutting from our neighbour's hedge just a couple of years ago and just look at it now, and with the added bonus of that beautiful fragrance we really enjoy it!



Here we have a butterfly bush which I believe is a New Zealand plant - its foliage has an unusual smell when you touch it but oh my, look at that flower - and you're only aware of the smell if you grab hold of the foliage, so it's okay!
Then we have a lovely fuchsia hanging over the fence - I always think of ballerinas when I look at fuchsias - can you see the resemblance?



Last but certainly not least here are a couple of snaps of the LillyPilly that I've shown you before, but at a different stage here with its beautiful blossom!



And that my dear friends is it for this time - I've been busy with other little crafty things but they will wait for another time as I've probably bombarded you enough with pics for now. I do hope you've enjoyed our little sharing time and I always look forward to hearing from you and to keeping up with your posts also. As always I wish you the very best of all that is good and wonderful, and for those of you who are feeling a bit 'under the weather' or caring for a loved one who needs that extra little bit of loving, I send warm healing thoughts - and thus energies!

Warm hugs and love,

Joy xoxo

Monday 18 November 2013

Angel and Baby Hedgehog Fun

Hello my friends, I hope you're all well and having fun as we begin the sprint towards Christmas! A big welcome to my new followers - you are most welcome here, I'm happy to see you!

I've been busy making bits and pieces that I can't show at the moment, because, as most of you would understand, they are probably going to be gifted here and there, but, there are a couple of projects that I'd love you to see:

I think these three would make a nice little group on a wall - the little birdies and the Christmas trees fabrics were purchased from Spotlight a few weeks ago as craft squares, after seeing the idea in magazines - they were quick and easy to do and I did what I usually do - cut a circle of cotton webbing same size as the linen to back it with, and then ran the gathering stitches through to secure them on the back. I like the slightly padded look that this gives the little pictures. The little angel stitchie is similar to those I've seen in various places so, with the aid of such inspiration, I drew it myself and kinda made it mine! These are small hoops, around thirteen cm (or five inches) in diameter.



And still on the subject of Christmas, I have been busy with a few little decos:


I do have plans for some of these, but that will keep for another time. I made snowflakes from this pattern last year as well, and found the little stars a few days ago on the same blog here - they are rather sweet, don't you think? The little stuffed deco is from Attic 24, also from last year. The flowers - well, I'll tell you about them another time!


On Saturday morning I was up early as usual, trying to keep up with my ever increasing blog reading, and saw something on Attic 24 blog that really got me excited and, to cut a long story short, followed the link that Lucy gave to Liz Ward's site on Ravelry where I duly bought the PDF for this little baby hedgehog. This little darling is also available on ETSY, as well as from Liz's blog here. Wow Liz does make some little cuties, but I just fell head over heels in love with this little girl and that was a little project that couldn't wait - I might add that doing all those little spikes into each crocheted stitch took a little bit of time, but I thought she was well worth the effort. What do you think? By the way, this little baby has a Mum and Dad - so the PDF covers three sizes, if you are interested!




My darling elder daughter Tracy sent me another lovely surprise gift last week - isn't she gorgeous!
A lovely 'Women's Weekly' pattern book full to the brim with sweet animals (the tall pic down there is the back page) and also a Mollie magazine which, as most of you know, is always filled with wonderful crafty projects and inspirational ideas. The pic of the Koala from the WW book might have you wondering about it's arms - they can be found on another page but one can also make him without any - oh, poor little thing!




I think my post would be missing something if I didn't include something from my garden, and so at the risk of being boringly repetitive, I've included, firstly, my 'Playgirl' rose - and isn't she gorgeous; do you see the happy bee in the first pic, enjoying breakfast?




And here are a few poppies - I'm sorry that these pics are not as successful as I would have liked but the wind was blowing strongly and I just had to wait with my finger on the button and click when I thought my chances were better. We also have the bright happy orange anemone-type blooms there and a yellow rose that we inherited whose name I don't know, along with ever-friendly daisies! So many varieties of daisies available and I love them all!




It's been quite a busy week, all in all, with comings and goings with family and visits to and from friends - and our number three grandson having a sleep-over on Saturday night. We've also had him here for a couple of hours today after school, during which time he enjoyed his 'afternoon snacks at Nana and Pop's place' - oh they all enjoy that bit - then his guitar lesson with his talented teacher, before being collected and taken home. Because they live out of town a little way it's much easier to organise things like music lessons at our place, and they always enjoy coming here! Of course I don't need to say how much we enjoy our boys' company - it's a foregone conclusion! You can tell can't you!

Till next time, take care of yourselves and happy crafting, reading, gardening - whatever brings smiles to your lovely faces!  And be well!

Warm hugs,

Joy xoxo

Saturday 9 November 2013

Let's Go Beaching!

Hello my friends, I hope you are all feeling bright and cheery - and if not, well, how about a visit to the beach for some lovely golden sands, blue water and sunshiny sky?

The weather here today in Denmark, Western Australia is bright as can be, nicely warm without being hot, and quite still, which makes it a perfect day for visiting Green's Pool and taking some pics! For those of you lovelies who don't know this area let me just explain that we only need take a fifteen minute car trip from home to reach this absolutely delightful spot.

There is just one thing that could put some folks off making the trip from the carpark down to the beach, and that is the steps! Yes, well, perhaps not too bad going down depending on the condition of your knees, but it is a bit of a pull back up again afterwards, especially if you've had a heap of exercise whilst down there! Let me show you .. … 

At the beginning of the path, then around the corner onto the steps, and a couple of pics taken on the way down just to whet your appetite, yes? It's worth the effort, really!


Still on the downwards climb - a bit more pathway to go yet .. ...


Aha! See that first pic there? Well that's the platform where one can stand and peruse the wondrous site that awaits you after the trail down that path - magical water and rocks and boulders that take your breath away!


Now just a half dozen or so steps and you're onto the beach - a few folks have stepped out of their shoes and - well - they're free to walk, paddle, swim, climb rocks, picnic - whatever they choose to do! What delight! By the way that little bit of fencing that looks a bit out of place is there to protect the dunes from damage and is therefore very necessary.



Now we'll take just a little walk today because we really just came down to get pics of this wonderful place to share with you - if we chose to, we could spend hours mooching around clambering over rocks and generally messing about!
The third pic on the left below is where we turned to walk back, and so you can see that we are surrounded by these beautiful mountainous boulders which are a joy to climb if you have a bit of dare about you! The fourth pic here is of the platform again which will take us back up that path and all those steps back to the carpark!!!



And now you can really see what's in front of us - and oh look, there's a bench to rest your weary legs if the going gets too tough! Then we have the big signage again at the beginning (or end) of the pathway, explaining a little bit of what this little adventure is all about! I do hope you enjoyed our little outing, for I certainly enjoyed sharing it with you! Only to share with special friends!

I might add here that this beach is so safe the children's swimming classes are held here every year in January.



On a totally different subject now, Tuesday was 'Melbourne Cup Day' and if you are interested in horse racing then you will no doubt be aware of this special occasion  on the calendar. Here in Australia it's generally recognised as 'the race that stops the nation' and, whether you are a gambler or not (and we are not) most businesses, offices, etc. have a sweepstake for a bit of fun and it's quite acceptable for folks to stop work for the few minutes that it takes to watch the race run! 

On this day our custom is to get together with friends and have a nice lunch after watching the race together on the telly, which we did, and this year it was at our place: we had a lovely salad of rocket, pear, shaved parmesan and roasted 'cashews' (cause I don't care for pine nuts!) along with lovely marinated barbecued chicken breasts. I'm afraid it was devoured before I got the camera into action so you'll have to take my word for it, but I did take snaps of my pavlova which I'm about to show you - yes, pavlova covered in lashings of fresh cream and raspberries - sorry, you're too late, it's all gone!



How about a beautiful rose? This time we have 'William Wordsworth' -  David Austin bred again - isn't it magnificent! It has the most wonderful perfume too!



I think that's it this time folks! Yes, I have done some little stitchies but they are Christmas themed and similar to those already posted in previous weeks so I won't repeat myself. I've also done a bit of the cardigan and this time it looks like the sizing will be okay so I'm happy about that. There are so many crafty projects on my list that it's difficult to decide what to tackle first so I am trying hard to take things as they come and not get stressed, which I'm sure you'll agree is a bit difficult at this time of year, yes?

Do enjoy your weekend and have fun cause life is short and we need to make the most of it!

Many thanks for all your sweet encouraging messages - you are such lovely friends!

Warm hugs to you all!
Joy xoxo 


Sunday 3 November 2013

Tidying Up and Finishing Off

Hello my friends, thank you for being here!

It's Sunday again and I'm happy to be linking up with  Chrissie for Sunday Stitchalong once again!
Today I'm showing you the completed stitchie I was working on last week:


 I back the fabric with a soft cotton wadding before securing in the hoop, then run a strong thread through the overlap and pull tight. The wadding gives the piece a slightly padded look, which I like. Before tightening the thread, inside the back of the hoop I place a round of good quality acid-free watercolour paper followed by a circle of wadding to neaten things up; have I explained that properly?

So while finishing off this little picture yesterday I thought it a good idea to take care of another couple of things I'd been working on over the weeks - you have seen these before, but I thought it would be nice to show you how they look in their little hoop frames: 



They are just lying on the coffee table here to be photographed, and a permanent spot has not yet been found for them - maybe they'll say goodbye and go off to new homes since Christmas is almost upon us, who knows …

Tidying up these little pieces got me inspired to think seriously about  more of the stitchies that were lying around looking kinda lost .. .. so I got the sewing machine out today and made a couple of cushions … do you remember the cat and the owl from previous posts?




Do you like them? I'm feeling a bit chuffed with myself - oh dear, does that sound like pride? I'm just very pleased with the way they turned out! Owl cushion is child size whereas cat is larger. 


This week has seen very little progress on my cardigan knitting, in fact, let's be honest, I ripped it out and started again, so haven't quite caught up to where it was a couple of weeks ago: the sizing was wrong - it would have fit a monster, and you know, yes, you know don't you, that I'm no monster?!!! Anyway, I'm happy with it now so I will really concentrate on it this week.

I nearly didn't do this post today cause I was all upset! Yes, J and I watched 'Out of Africa' again and boy does that film get to me! I think it's my favourite film ever, taking me through every emotion possible - it just seems so very real and the ending breaks my heart every time. Of course it is a true story so what else can one expect, but Meryl Streep and Robert Redford are so ideally suited to the parts they play - what else can I say - wonderful story!

But before that we had our walk and I took the camera with me this time.

Waterlilies and ducks in the pond on the outskirts of the park - such a treat to behold, don't you think?



Then around the corner and a bit further along we have these lovely sights. We are so fortunate to live in this beautiful area!


And I think this wouldn't feel quite like my blog if I didn't include a couple of  'In the garden this week' pics for you to peruse: I love my garden and it really is at its very best at the moment!


This rose is such a beautiful specimen with a wonderful fragrance - J planted it only three or four weeks ago and it's doing so well already. It's in an ideal spot where it can be admired for it's beauty and fragrance by anyone coming through the front gate: 



It's been quite a week hasn't it - so many interesting blogs full of the excitement of the preparation and celebration of hallowe'en, as well as beautiful makings, fabrics, yarns, etc.. I've enjoyed it all so much and I thank you all for sharing so much of the daily happenings in your lives. Thank you also for the lovely responses to my posts - you're such a lovely bunch of friends!

I hope that you all have a wonderfully fulfilling week and that those of you whose health is not as good as it could be will soon pick up and feel good and strong again.

Warm hugs to you all!

Joy xoxo

Monday 28 October 2013

Sunday Stitchalong and a Conglomeration

 Welcome one and all and I trust that all is well with you!

I'm joining in again with  Chrissie for Sunday Stitchalong but it's already Monday morning here! I'm not making apologies for that because, well, we spent valuable time with our younger daughter, hubby and grandsons yesterday, enjoying catching up over cuppa and cake and taking in the lovely warm sunshine whilst wandering through the vineyard and veggie patch - well really, why wouldn't you! And then afterwards, just to add to the pleasure, we had lovely home-grown artichokes, freshly laid eggs, and a case of their wonderful award-winning wine to bring home with us. Once home the thought of sitting at the computer really didn't  turn me on - and besides - I hadn't yet started on my stitching for the week so couldn't have shown it to you anyway: that all makes good sense doesn't it!

But I did make a start and here it is: a Christmas theme, simple and quick and most relaxing - I am really enjoying this!


So far I've used back stitch, little wee French knots, satin stitch and a mish-mashy sort of feather stitch for the angel's wings, oh and long and short for the hair. Apart from the wings which used two strands, everything has been done with single strand floss. 

And where did the inspiration come for this little piece? Well now, I must tell you, the postie brought me the loveliest surprise one day last week: I was already watching and waiting for the arrival of a  package from Judy containing a Giveaway that I'd been fortunate enough to win (more on that shortly) so a second package arriving at the same time sent me into a bit of a spin for I couldn't remember having ordered anything recently from Amazon. When I got into the parcel here is what I found:


My daughter Tracy had organised for Amazon to send me this lovely book - just because! Just because what? Because she loves her Mum and wants to encourage and support me in my endeavours - now isn't that lovely and aren't I blessed with my beautiful family! Thanks again Trace, and you can see I haven't let the grass grow under my feet xxx !

The book is so well laid out with double-paged spreads - pictures on the right side and all the info regarding types of stitching and threads etc. on the left - so not only was I inspired, I actually traced off the little motifs, with a wee bit of re-arranging, and this time round used dressmakers carbon paper to copy them onto the fine linen fabric. I'm happy!

And now for Judy's lovely gift, making it a double dose of excitement and pleasure:


Her sweet pin-cushion which she had lovingly crocheted - all squeezy and cuddly - so nicely wrapped in matching colour tissue and ribbon plus a sweet little cross-stitch for me to do. As well, Judy sent me a lovely note on her special paper and a postcard showing where she's based in the States. Many thanks once again Judy - the first giveaway I've ever won xx.

Remarkably, shortly after being told of this win I then had word from Deb telling me that I had won her lovely giveaway - a knitting pattern for the beautiful 'Pau Hana' jumper. Many thanks again to you too, Deb xx. I bought a lottery ticket after that but it didn't come up for me, although that doesn't mean I won't win in the future, does it!

Last post I showed the cardi I had begun to knit, and that's all fine but very little progress made on it because - well - I got side-tracked by a magazine! Just over a week ago, whilst browsing the newsagents stand I happened upon this, which led to THAT! Who is THAT peeping out from behind my cushions?


Could you have resisted that picture up in the top left corner? No, I couldn't either, so the cardi went on the back-burner, as projects are wont to do, and I spent the week working on this little Mousie. Following the info in the magazine I see that this pattern is also available through Ravelry. Overall the pattern was very good, but there were a couple of little hiccups which were probably (hopefully) printer's errors but which would bother a newcomer to knitting, and I don't like, after 50+ years of knitting, finding abbreviations that are nowhere else to be found; that aside, once moving beyond my annoyance, I did enjoy most of the process. For the shoes I used a Patons baby bootee knitting pattern  rather than the one provided. I do love Miss Mousie, and am still working on a name for her - so far suggestions have been Millie, Molly, Gertrude (Gertie?) - you're welcome to have a shot at it, I'd love to hear from you! 



Now I'm giving my lovely Hubby (J) a bit of bragging space here: he BBQ'd some lovely fish  along with asparagus wrapped in prosciutto the other night, and oven-fried some chips too. It was all delicious and I enjoyed it very much even though he felt everything had had a little bit too much heat!


Now don't you think he did a great job - and I promise I did not interfere or offer one word of advice - oh right, maybe that's why it was such a success!!!


I must also show you a pic that J very cleverly took a few mornings ago: he heard a tap-tapping sound and when he looked across the road saw two kookaburra's perched on the tree in front of the neighbours property. Right, well, that's  not really unusual but - one of them just happened to be killing off a mouse (or was it a rat), by bashing the poor thing off the branch. Notice its mate sitting watching the action!


Just a couple of lovely blooms from the garden now: roses and lillypilly foliage ... ...



And some pretty shots from the garden in situ ... ...



And 'that's all for now folks' (who said that - 'twas a very clever and entertaining rabbit from many years ago??? Of course it was  the inimitable Bugs Bunny!)

I'm wishing you all lots of happies, and for those of you who celebrate hallowe'en, do enjoy the fun! Many thanks for all your lovely welcome messages.

Joy xo