Thursday 19 January 2012

More reasons to be cheerful!

I'm always slow with my Reasons To Be Cheerful (Planet Penny usually starts the cheerfulness ball rolling on a Wednesday or a Thursday) so today I'm going to cram in three super-quick reasons while having my coffee, before going to get the kids from school.

*deep breath*

1) Stargazing Live - granted I didn't get to watch it actually live ('Kids! Go. To. Bed!') but either on delay or on iplayer, but ah, how I enjoyed it! Thought-provoking, funny, fascinating, intriguing. Shame it's so often cloudy here, particularly in January.
Oh, I took this picture last week on a clear evening (well, afternoon really).

I watched the 2nd programme on iplayer with the Boy yesterday and he was mostly fascinated and is quite keen that we take his telescope up to Granny and Grandpa's next time we go as we'll get more of a dark sky there.

2) Flowers! Yes, more :-D. My tulips are past their best now but I've hung onto them for their weird sculptural shapes and rich colours:

but I've also got some daffs! Excuse my excessive enthusiasm for a moment but I love daffodils - the colour, the shape, the smell:
.. the shadows they cast on themselves..

Buying flowers is a bit of an indulgence but so worth it when the sun comes out briefly and the windowsill just lights up with colour.

3) Shade cards:
That's the Jamieson's one

All those colours, all those possibilities! I've been playing about with knitters' graph paper this week, doing some Fair Isle/colourwork designs. It's not something I've really done before (the designing that is) but is very absorbing. I've got a few ideas in my head at the moment so the shade card, aside from being a thing of beauty in its own right, is a way of focussing the ideas a bit in terms of colours and how they work together. And seeing the colours is quite inspirational too. Sorry, went off in a daydream there..

Right, gotta go!

8 comments:

Planet Penny said...

Lovely skies and flowers, really getting us set up for the arrival of Spring. I have the Jamieson shade card, isn't it inspiring? Oh for another 12 hours in each day to fit in everything we want to do!
Thanks for joining in! xxx

Penny said...

Star gazing has to be one of my all time favourite things and for sure makes me cheery. As for Spring flowers, I too find them impossible to resist and why should we anyway, especially when they can be quite reasonably priced :0)
I think if I had that shade card in my home I would find it hard to go to work! It's too gorgeous xox

Annie said...

Ah, shade cards ... one of life's true pleasures!

Annie said...

Ah, shade cards ... one of life's true pleasures!

Mrs. Micawber said...

I love shade cards, and paint samples, and lavender skies, and flowers (wilting as well as fresh). Great phrase - "the shadows they cast on themselves."

All very good reasons to be Cheerful. Looking forward to seeing your Fair Isle design!

Mrs. Micawber said...

P.S. I really thought I was following your blog but it seems to have disappeared from the radar. Will have to try again. Blogger confounds me.

Marigold said...

I agree! Star gazing is wonderful - when you actually can see the stars. :) Love the shade card! How exciting! Happy week!

* said...

My oldest has been caught up with stargazing recently, inspired by cubs to get his astronomy badge.

I saw some daffs today in a hedge, I think ours may bloom soon at the top of the drive, I love seeing them bobbing about outside.