HERE'S TO A GREEDY, JUICY,LEARNING SUMMER OF PERSONAL DELIGHTS

Stanley Spencer

At long last by the end of last week I had finished all my outstanding swap committments. All that is left is the ongoing Hello Dolly Swap and a healing doll, I promised someone, and even these two dolls are now at the actually being made stage. The little grey cloud rumbling above my head in a thundery manner started to disperse once I had posted, my woodland sprite, my crow chunky pages and my Shhhh! project. Sometimes I find that group projects, seem to stifle my creativity in my own art for art's sake. I become so aware of not letting a group down and my responsibility to the those people, that I actually seem to freeze when I want to involve myself in personal work.

Laura Knight

I have decided, and I know that some of you know about this, as I have mentioned it in a couple of emails, that I am drawing back from group swaps for a while, apart from the one that is still ongoing. I am going to concentrate on my art and probably just get involved in one to one's and RAKs. I was stretched out in too many ways before, with the amount of swaps. For now I want to concentrate on my art, my garden, my history research, my blog and putting more time aside for my favourite occupation reading. I want to have a greedy, juicy, learning summer of personal delights. I fully intend to make myself a banner saying just that 'Here's to the greedy, juicy, learning summer of personal delights'. Raise a glass with me to that and have one too. What fun we can have in the autumn revealing what we gained through these months. Southern Hemisphere, do the same with Winter using suitable winter words.



You note I have a new sidebar item that advertises National Faery Day on 24th June, if you click on it you should be taken to the site and you can choose one for your own blog. There are lots of things going on around that time, such as in Bodmin in Cornwall, a three day faery
festival. I'm sure we can all think of lots of lovely things to do to celebrate this day.



A very good friend of mine from the blogs, and I have been talking about Druids and Driudism recently. This is really quite apt as the doll the Hello Dolly Group are making this month is a Celtic Goddess. Druidism is fascinating, and has reinvented itself many times throughout history. Basically it is similar, I think to wicca, and to various pantheistic religions [ one with many gods and goddesses, often associated with nature, eg rivers, trees, rocks]. It is also a belief that really looks after our Earth. Listed below are the main attributes of certain types of Druidism.

John Piper

~Love of Peace~ Love of Beauty - the bard and artists within~ Love of Justice - non punitive justice and law ~Love of Story and Myth - the power of mythology~ Love of History and Reverence for Ancestors~ Love of Trees - sacred groves and study of treelore~ Love of Stones - stone circles and crystals~ Love of Truth - wisdom~ Love of Animals - druidry sees animals as sacred ~ Love of the Body~ Love of the Sun, Moon and Stars~ Love of Life.

Jill Worthington

The Druids came from pre-Celtic times and by Celtic times had a long history of lore and beliefs. It they had any written words they have been destroyed long before then and a lot of our information about them come from Roman writers, such as Julius Caesar. The Druids, deified elments of nature, such as the moon, stars and sun, and looked to them for signs and seasons. The also held as holy natural elements such as. rivers, lakes, tops of hills, groves, trees, and plants. Fire was regarded as a symbol of several divinities and was associated with the sun and cleansing. The calendar was governeed by the lunar, solar and vegetative cycles. There were three categories the Bards, who knew the songs and stories of their people, the Ovates who were gifted with second sight, and were the seers and healers and the Druids who were the philospohers, judges and teachers. There was much maligning of the Druids by certain Romans and talk of human blood sacrifices though some of what is written must surely be taken as anti Druid propaganda. It took many years of learning to become a Druid and it was open to both men and women. I feel aspects of it mix in well with wicca and solitary hedgewitchery, it also brings back to us the importance of never losing our traditions and lore, our history and beginnings are what makes us the people we are. Even in today's age of technology we should never forget how to use the oral storytelling tradition.

INSPIRATION EXPLOSION

By nine thirty this morning I was on planet bliss, why? I have just received through the post some issues of Cloth Paper Scissors. At last I have found somewhere in the UK that will send me this magazine. I ordered the current issue and the previous issue. I have been sitting with a cup of coffee, turning over the pages, colours and forms whirling round in my brain, I haven't even began to read the text yet. I just can't get enough of the images. You don't know how lucky you are you gals over the pond to be able to have magazines of this calibre. We have nothing like it, just twee card making magazines which usually are just step by step instructions to making, not juicy inspiring journals such as this. I have now ordered a Stampington magazine, but there are many others listed, unfortunately, I can't buy them all, but I would be grateful if any of you have any recommendations for favourites. I did not believe magazines could be so inspiring.




On Wednesday, I had a lovely surprise when I received a piece of Guerilla Art from Mis Judie Macawhead, [see above], it certainly made my day, which I knew was going to be a very stressful one. This piece of work with its delicious cats is now framed and hanging above my work desk, where it makes me smile each time I look up at it. The envelope made me chuckle too, there was a fairy with a magnifying glass flying over a map of Cumbria looking for me, collaged on it. Delightful! Thank you Judie.


Wednesday was a stressful day as out of the blue I received a phone call saying there was a flat in shetlered accommodation about to become available for my Mum if she wanted it. I had to go and view it that morning, the occupant is in the middle of moving to be nearer her children so the flat was half empty. I thought it looked fine, said so, so when the lady hands in her keys, my mother must view it and then sign the tenancy agreement. I then had to go to see my Mum and explain about the flat, that took four hours of exhausting talk. She does want to move, but she, naturally enough, lives life in the slow lane and the speed of all this has left her somewhat confused, she is no longer good at making sudden decisions and becomes very indecisive. I have told her many times that when she eventually found new accommdation everything would happen with great speed. I would imagine she will be in there within six weeks. So everything is about to become very very hectic indeed.




When I arrived home that night, the stress was already telling on me, I sank into a chair still in my outdoor coat and just burst into tears, for no reason I could think of. Luckily husband was on hand to make me a soothing drink, coffee my favourite way, light my candles and incense and let me slowly chill out. I must remember in all the sorting etc that will be happening in the next few weeks to keep some small spaces of time for metime, when I can relax and indulge in pleasant things.

So, all small plans I had for rejigging rooms of my cottage, have taken on a larger frame with my Mum moving as the plan works like this. Four lists, one for items, my Mum is taking with her, the second for items to be stored in the interim in my barn, the third for items I am lucky enough to be inheriting from her and the fourth charity shop items or complete throw away items. This sounds organised but believe me it is mammoth, a whole lifetime's accumulations to be gone through. My cupboards, niches and storage space must be emptied to enable them to be repacked with extra boxes. I see a shoppping expedition for vacuum storage packages to enable more storage, plastic storage boxes etc. Once I get the word the flat is empty I am going to have a seriously frantic few weeks.



It was my Local History Group meeting last night, I am so glad I started this group, I love to hear the members of varying ages talk about how the village used to be. I am organising a summer schedule of illustrated talks from various local historians, to which anyone in the village can attend for the princely sum of £1, I just want enough to pay for the hall hire and the speaker, it is not a profit making group.

We have also decided to have what I call a Show and Tell, one Saturday morning after Easter. This is where we put up photos past and present of the village, newspaper cuttings about it, maps, and various bits and pieces, people can pop in to look at these and also bring any photographs, house deeds, clippings, artifacts, even memories to show us. We have a strong basic group but the feedback I am getting is that there are many more people out there that are interested in the group but do not want to committ to joining yet, so lectures and the Show and Tell are the ideal way of reaching them. I had someone in to give a lecture in November and it was a great success.




Also when the Spring arrives, we are going to do a group walk around the village and the parish churches nosing about here and there and taking photos. I think people become so used to their surroundings and think they are familiar with them, but to walk around looking at details in a group will give them a fresh appreciation of the village.

This posting was slightly longer but, thank you Mr. B***** Blogger, for somehow managing to lose a saved draft in cyberspace, I have had to write it all again