Queen Elizabeth II: 60 Years Strong

Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II

Today marks the accession of Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. 60 years ago today, her father, King George VI died, leaving Elizabeth to rule in his stead.

Wars, political and personal strife, economic downturn, family deaths, she has persevered through it all. No one is perfect, and many will take the opportunity to say nasty things about the monarchy, but for all the negatives that may be, no one (or government, for that matter) is perfect, and I am still very happy to have a Royal Family for Canada. The tradition, history and safety of our monarchy is vital to our country's well being. It means that there is always another step to our political processes, and our laws and amendments always have to go for final approval through her, even though she may be more figurehead now than active, hands-on ruler in Canada.

I am proud and happy to see the Royal Family as it continues to the next generation. His Royal Highness Prince William and his wife, the lovely Katherine, Duchess of Cambridge, have their work cut out for them in the future, but if they can work as hard as Her Royal Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, and for even half as long, we'll be standing in good stead.

Many may pooh-pooh the Queen, but consider: She pays taxes, amounting to millions of English Pounds (or Euro) per year, which is great for the English economy, and she works - hard. Our Queen works hard, every day. She has a schedule that most 30-year-old's would balk at, never mind a woman in her 80's. She tirelessly helps so many, even if they don't even know it. When many would be slowing down, retiring, spending time in leisure, Queen Elizabeth does not. She is a remarkable inspiration to anyone, Monarch-lover or not.

While the official celebrations aren't scheduled to start until June, I say we celebrate our Queen, thank her for her services and be grateful for her hard work and dedication to our country.

Thank you Your Majesty, we love you. God Bless the Queen!

Merry Christmas! Season's Greetings!

A huge Merry Christmas to everyone! Thank you so much for brightening my year with your views and comments. You mean the world to me, and I look forward to blogging to you next year and beyond. I have lots planned for the future - style advice, new jewellery pieces, Arwednesdays, how-to's, treasuries, features and much more. Please keep coming back and please give me your feedback so I know what you want to see.

Wishing you the best of the season, see you in a few days,

and Arwen the Wonder Dog

A Great Big Thank You Tuesday

~Dreaming of Spring - I just put in my seed order for this year!~

I just wanted to write a quick thank-you to everyone who has commented, emailed, Facebooked and sent prayers, well wishes and kind words after my post last week. I'm still on PB and rice cakes. Though I have tried to introduce vegetables and fruits back into my diet, it still meets with incredible resistance from my system. However, I will NOT give up! I am craving salads, lentils and lasagna like crazy and I am bound and determined that I will have them again. As soon as possible, maybe even all together, who knows??

On a good note, I have an appointment with a specialist next Wednesday... I suppose living in a rural community can have its good points - mainly that the specialists out here aren't nearly as overbooked as the ones in the big city an hour away. Hopefully after this consultation I'll have a better idea of tests to come, with a hopeful diagnosis and then treatment.

...Until then, I'm going to go have lunch. Hmm...I wonder...should I have peanut butter and rice cakes or rice cakes and peanut butter?? ;-)

Until next time,

Thoughtful Thursday: Planning Ahead

Hello everyone! I, Arwen the Wonder Dog, have taken over the blog again today to help with a serious issue here. Before I do, we wanted to thank everyone for all of their comments on our blogs - we might not answer them all, but we read and love every one of your wonderful comments!

Now, back to business! A little while ago, mommy asked you all how she could improve the blog and her store to keep you interested and coming back. Many of you wanted to see more of me (but of course!), and many of you also wanted to see how Meghann, my mom does what she does - how she makes her fabulous jewelry pieces, what she uses, et cetera. If truth be told, mommy is a little shy so she asked me to help her plan some lessons. The top photo is me looking apprehensive - I stated previously that holding pens in my paws is difficult, but I thought I should give it a try...
Well, OK, I'll write, but I don't want you to see it until it's done!

OK, I can't be that mean, but here are a few of our thoughts so far:
-Jewelry how-to's will be done on Mondays and will be called "Monday's Methods"
-We'll cover the basics; tools, how they are held properly, what they are used for
-Different wire types and how they are used
-Different Bead and stone types, their differences, why it's important, and how they are used
-Techniques; basics, wrapping, hammering, stitching
-Works in Progress
...And much more!

We are also working on trying to clean and organize mommy's office. It is hard because she doesn't really have a good working space, but we are working on that too!

Please let us know if there is anything else you would like to see so that we can make sure you are always happy visiting us. We want to make you happy and keep you interested!

Ta-Ta for now,
and Arwen

Fabulous Friday - You Did It!!

YOU DID IT YOU DID IT! Thank You so much to everyone who donated and/or passed the message on about the 19 feedlot horses scheduled for slaughter - they have managed to raise enough money to help them!

Unfortunately, 3 of the pregnant mares gave birth in the feedlot, one mare died, and one foal died also, but though the remaining horses are in rough shape, your donations are helping to bring the remaining horses back to health with the promise of a life with people who love them.

You are Wonderful, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!

If you would like to know more, or donate (they still need funds to care for the animals they rescue, after all!), please visit their website: http://www.circlel.org/clr/
Thank you for your kindness and love,

Thankful Thursday...Err Friday!

A great big Thank You! to all the great ladies who came out to my latest jewelry-making class, "Wire, Wire, Wire!". We made earrings like these, a bracelet and a necklace using beads we hand wrapped in silver wire. It was a great success and I hope to see everyone next month!

Thankful Thursday

I woke up this morning, and though it is still pretty cold in these parts, the sun was shining, I heard birds in the trees singing, there were two gorgeous, bright blue Blue Jays at the feeders and they were sharing the feeders with the other smaller chickadees and sparrows, and I thought, wow, this is going to be a great day! I finished my vegetable seed order last night, (though I still have to do the plants, flowers and bulb orders) and it feels like spring is actually going to come soon and warm our bodies, minds and souls. My heart swelled with happiness and I thought that I just had to share the love.
So, all this is to say Thank You for reading my blog, joining me on my roller coaster of life and jewelry making, business and art. No selling anything today, just a very heartfelt Thank You!
I hope your day is fantastic and full of happy sunshine :)
Oh, and Arwen wishes you all the same thing, too!

Sweet Saturday - I Got a Thank-You!

I received a wonderful thank you in the mail today - postcards from CrazyBliss! I LOVE her artwork - her cats are so whimsical and happy, they always make me feel happy. Imagine my surprise when I got these as a thank you! Wow! Apparently the postcards will be a new item in her shop soon, so check out her CrazyBliss Etsy Shop to see all of her cool items, guaranteed to make you smile no matter what kind of day you are having!
Meghann

Thankful Thursday: Baby It's FREEZING Outside!

~Almost Finished!~

~Front~

~Back~

Having blogged about fibromyalgia and it's inherent all-weather-but especially-cold-weather crappiness before, I'll spare you the repeat on it. As it is Thankful Thursday, I wanted to thank all my e-friends for their support when I am feeling so crappy - your kind words and notes on my blogs make me feel so much better :)
I am also infinitely thankful for my husband, who is very understanding when the laundry is left on the dining room table for a few days when I can't do much, and my dog, who on my bad days won't leave my side.
All that being said, this last cold snap has pretty much stopped my jewellery making as I have been so sore and tired that all I can do is sit on the couch. Enter my new favorite hobby - knitting and crocheting!
Brennan mentioned he wanted a new scarf and was actually going out to buy one when I said, "No honey, why buy one that everyone else has when I, your loving wife and partner, can make you one from scratch that will be yours and be unique!". He was mostly convinced (or I chose to take it that he was convinced, lol) after looking, no doubt, at my shining face, and agreed with hesitation, so long as it was 'cool'.
He had just gotten a new black wool pea coat (and it looks so fabulous on him, and NO that is not just because I am biased!), and wanted a scarf to contrast with it, while not making him look like a clown. Knowing he looks great in burgundy, I suggested that and he agreed. We looked through a couple of books to see if he liked any patterns and he chose one with more enthusiasm than I thought he would be able to muster for a scarf :)
I started this lace knit scarf on Sunday, having never knit lace or a full anything before. After a rough start, ripping out everything too many times to count (hours of hat because, apparently, I can't count properly), I finally got the hang of it, and now, after being confined to the couch for 4 days and hating to be inactive, I have only a few more inches to go! It's not perfect, but I think that is the charm of it (I reversed one line of purls/knits, so there is a raised line halfway on the smooth side, but as it is in what will be the exact middle of the scarf, it will probably look intentional - I LOVE those mistakes!). The stitch is called the faggot lace knit stitch (not telling hubby that for obvious reasons), and I got the pattern from "Knitting for Dummies". While I HATE the title of these books (I am not a 'Dummy', nor do I appreciate being called one), they really do make learning things you perceive to be difficult a lot easier.

Up next will be Amigurumi animals, hopefully to sell to raise money for animal charities. I'll let you know when that is up and running. If this cold snap continues, I'll probably have a small zoo of them by next week :s
Happy Thankful Thursday, and Thank You for Reading!
Meghann
P.S. Don't forget to check out my Etsy store for new items, and items on sale! Also, the January Blog contest is still going strong so please enter if you haven't already :)

(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday

~Some Chickadees at My Deck Feeders~

Happy New Year!
Thank you to everyone who reads this blog and has commented on my various posts. I really appreciate your time in looking and hope to see you here next year!
I'm working on more things for you, so please come on back!
Meghann