Colours

I like colours; of course, purple is my favourite as everyone knows! :-)
But, to be honest, life can creep by day by day and we just don't notice that our lives come in glorious technicolour....

Take my boys for instance; my two beautiful ginger cats.
Hehehe - enjoy this photo; a rare event indeed for them to share my lap!William (on the left) is a beautifully marked ginger of many shades and pure white with soulful green eyes. He has an occasional black mark, including the most adorable black spotted mouth. He even has a black beauty spot on his whiskerbed. Charlie, on the other hand, although still a ginger is a deep orange tinted with red with not a single bit of white anywhere on him. Even his eyes are the same colour as his coat - quite stunning.

I was brought to the realisation of the sheer wealth of colour in our lives that pass without a second glance while I was preparing the dinner tonight....The deep green, dark red, bright orange and mixture of yellows of the peppers I was chopping for the bolognese grabbed my attention, especially when the white onion was laid beside them and added contrast. After years of pushing (sorry - encouragement!) by our mutual friend Carmi I decided to dust off my trusty point and shoot camera and photograph these vibrant colours.

Mental overload of beauty came when I put them all together and coated them in oil....

In this 'Now' life of hustle and bustle and surrounded by man-made fakery I realised how rarely we stop to absorb the everyday real colours around us created by Mother Nature.

cq

British Commercials

You know, we have to admit that the British make the best commercials in the world..

Car insurance is, of course, advertised by a meerkat...called Aleksander...



and

any ideas on how to advertise mobile telephones...? Let's Dance..



By the way - Aleksander Orlov, the Russian meerkat, is now a national hero in the UK, with his own Facebook, his own YooToob and plans for a blog. Oh, and 'comparethemeerkat.com' is a real website - go visit here!

cq

Off to Market we go...

Today the Aginoths and I headed north to visit the International Living History Fair, a market event aimed at those people whose hobby is time travel, from Romans to WWII fighter aces and everything in between. Stalls groaning under the weight of armour, swords, sheepskins, replica guns, fabrics, pottery and wooden goods filled the hall, enticing people to spend more money than they intended!
People roamed the hall in costumes from medieval wenches to Tudor gentlemen in high-topped boots.

It's a lot smaller than it used to be, but was absolutely heaving with people wanting to find that special purchase ready for the new season.

I had my 14C shopping list:
a new cup (to replace the one smashed in a rainstorm in Italy)
bells (for my belt and pouch)
brass needles
iron needles
leather (for shoemaking)
awl and leather knife
material - linen

I managed to get most of my list, except the cup and the leather knife. I also splashed out on a nice new authentic straw hat (in hopeful anticipation of some sun this year!) and couldn't resist some little bags of sweetness from Angela's Pantry.

I know I am not going to be taking part until after my surgery and recuperation but I decided to spend the interim teaching myself to make shoes and to sort out my wardrobe and knock up some new dresses.

There's another re-enactors market in a couple of weeks, where I can pick up a new authentic cup, so no worries there. Mind you, I always spend too much at these things so I'll probably pick up a few extra bits!

cq

Woman!

Woman; you must be either blind, deaf or stoopid! (Sincere apologies to those readers who are sight impaired, hearing impaired or educationally challenged!!)When you are in charge of a vehicle you should know your vehicle - especially your blind spot.
Don't even get me started on the 'optional' extra on your vehicle - the traffic indicators...which are there to *indicate* your intentions!
Also, there are pretty white lines on the road to show you where to put said vehicle safely.

When you swing across aforementioned white lines into my line of travel with barely an inch to spare, you should be hearing my car horn. I leant on my horn to warn you I was there but you didn't go back into your own lane - how odd - causing me to brake sharply whilst trying to not hit anyone else.

So, putting together my first point and my second point, I can't help feeling you are a very stupid woman - and I hope you didn't have kids in that very fancy schmanzy people carrier......

Honestly, some people.....

cq

Crazie Weather

'The sun is out,
The sky is blue,
There's not a cloud
to spoil the view...'
shh - don't talk too loudly, you might scare it away....

A sunny day makes all the bad stuff go away a little bit.

Here in the UK, we are on the cusp of Spring - the snowdrops are flowering, the crocuses and daffodils are coming out and there are definite signs that Spring is almost with us.

cq

Crazie Dictionary

Today's word comes courtesy of the Letter R.......

Rescue

1. to free from harm or evil I think our rescue cat Sweet William is free from harm and evil :-)

cq

6th of the 6th

I have been tagged for a meme - The Sixth. My dear blogpal, Nikki-Ann, in the wilds of Wales tagged me with this.

The idea is you go to the 6th photo in the 6th folder on your system and talk about it. The sixth folder in My Pictures is entitled Candles, and the sixth photo is a not terribly inspiring shot of my candles.

I love sitting by candlelight - especially as the light fades to dusk and the evening draws in. I don't do scented candles really, allergies you know, but I adore candlelight - almost as much as firelight. Candlelight eases my mind and helps me to think. It blurs the edges of reality and dims the sharp tang of life. No matter how churned my life gets, candlelight smoothes the strain.

Coincidentally, I am sitting in candlelight right now. My mind needs soothing. I heard today that my knee surgery is classed as routine and not due to be scheduled until mid-May, so that has put the kybosh on the first couple of months of the medieval re-enactment season. If I can't bend my knee or walk without pain, I can't live rough in castles.

meh...

:-(

I won't tag - but if you want to do this (and it is a little different!) then please link back to here.

cq

While You Were Sleeping...

While I was sleeping.... a virtual team of virtual cleaners came in and virtually cleaned my virtual Palace after the weekend party....
hmm - I wonder if I can get a virtual person to do my real-life work too??

cq

Hearts and Flowers Party - Day 2

Well, well, you all seem to have had a lovely day and here it is, party time again! In the true style of the English weekend!
Welcome to my party - any excuse for another new dress!

Tonight's food is a sumptuous selection of delicious finger food...

If you fancy a drink, in addition to the purple champagne we have champagnes of rainbow hues... Purpletinis...

or a purplerita...The tables are laid all ready..right down to the purple heart confetti.....and the centre pieces are a delight of flowers and candles......To follow, we have a selection of chocolates, strawberries in tuxes anyone?
Or, if they are too exotic - just dig into a bowl of purple hearts...
And, of course, the cake - a chocolate piece de resistance from our chef!

Nigel and Fiona will be happy to wait on your pleasure and Michael and Josephine will be on hand to help out.

This party is turning into an all night and day event! Nigel? Fiona? Restock the tables and get more bubbly from the cellar!
Everyone; Enjoy your evening/day at the Crazie Palace!

Hearts and Flowers Party Day 2

Happy Valentine's Day to all

- and to those who don't do Valentine's Day;

Happy Saturday!

Good morning everyone - we hope you had a good night! The good thing about blogparties is because visitors come from around the globe, someone is always here - of course, the staff get very tired! Good thing I employ virtual staff!

This morning a weary looking Nigel (Naomi, what did you two get up to last night??) and the ever-perky Fiona are serving breakfast in the garden room while Michael and Josephine clear up the main rooms.

Just let Nigel know what you want - full English.....Cooked breakfast...
Or some fresh pastries... With, of course, fresh orange juice....
and coffee....
And if you still have a hankering for something a little stronger....Nigel can knock up a Bucks Fizz for you....So, the party continues.....

Breakfast will be served all day, and you are free to roam the house and grounds. Perhaps admire my drawing room...
Or have some quiet time in the study...and the gardens are looking particularly beautiful even after the snows...Everyone, have a lovely time! Rest and relax and get ready for tonight's bash :-)

cq

It's Part-AY Time!!

[Throws open the doors]

Welcome to the Palace of the Crazie One - we hope you enjoy the party :-)

Nigel will meet you at the door and will cater to all your tastes...
Michael will park your virtual car

Josephine will carry your virtual bags

And Fiona will wait on you for your every whim
Would you like to see my dress....? Lush, isn't it?This is the Drawing Room where there will be dancing...
Here is the den, booze and nibbles on the table over there and Nigel will take care of your every need. If you have brought some additions, he will make a space...and we have lit candles and garden heaters on in the arbour, if anyone fancies a moonlit stroll...Everyone, have a lovely time!

Fiona will be circulating with drinks and nibbles throughout the afternoon and evening and Nigel will be manning the tables.

Following on the purple theme, of course, is my purple food :-)

Purple champagne...

And some fun stuff :-) Cocktail, anyone?What party would be complete without a cake?So, enjoy the party, mi casa es su casa :-)

Make yourselves at home, mingle, chat, eat, drink and be merry - because at a virtual party.....anything goes!

Nigel! Serve my friends with some champagne and - oh, Fiona, bring over the canapes.

We were going to have a party room for the felines, but they have decided to go to bed early!

[sound of feline snoring]

[takes purple champagne]
ooh, lovely champers [waves bottle].....can I top anyone up?

remember - we are nothing without our imaginations! :-)

Last Hurrah

I went out with my Bobkat last night for dinner and a movie; He's Just Not That Into You. I adore Bob and do so enjoy our evenings out together.
The dinner was fun and we watched the weather turn from dismal cold rain to snow through the restaurant window.
Then we went into the cinema, bought some lush Ben and Jerry's ice-cream, paid out a little extra for the 'superior' seating. With the nature of the film, as the cinema filled up with young ladies, Bob and I started to feel distinctly old :-)
Not to worry, the film was fun - jampacked with A-list celebs. I got to see my hero, Drew Barrymore, which is always a plus!

But the delightful evening was overshadowed as we came out of the cinema.
This is the sight that greeted us after only a couple of hours.....

And this is the carpark.....

And this is my little car....

We were blown away by the heavy relentless snow. Lucky ol' Bob, her much beloved turned up in his 4X4 to chauffeur her home. I had to drive my little car home, after scraping huge amounts of snow off her.

The snow was thick and wet and when I just touched the brake the car slid across two lanes of the road totally out of control. So I sneaked home at about 20mph the whole way, using the gears rather than the brake pedal. Very scary! :-(

I think this is the last of the snow now, and it was mostly cleared by the end of work today.

cq