Waiting for a Shaman

on Wednesday the 17th there was a knock at the door........... "Stonewylde!!  my new book!!!"  I thought. 

I opened the door and there stood my lovely neighbour 'B' with my copy of Magus of Stonewylde in her hands, the first in the Stonewylde series by Kit Berry. "I'm returning this...... I've just ordered the rest of them..... thanks" she said. "What have you done lending me that book?!?!?!..... I'm totally hooked!!!"  she continued.

I was really pleased that 'B' enjoyed the book enough to buy the other four .... but I was wanting Shaman of Stonewylde to arrive..... of course.... the last book in the series of five.  the postie arrived a little later with only a letter for me.  I was bitterly disappointed.

although I was out for the evening ... Wednesday night I returned and made a cuppa and sat down to finish my re-reading of  Shadows at Stonewylde in readiness for Shaman being delivered on the next day.

Thursday morning seemed to drag so much .... but at last there was a knock at the door and I could see the postie's red jacket through the glass in the door.  (little squeal of excitement)

I unlocked the door with a shaky hand and there stood our lovely lady postie with only a big pile of letters in her hand..... no Shaman.  for a second or two I wondered why she hadn't just put them through the letterbox and was so disappointed that my Shaman was still not to be in my hands.  

then she smiled and reached into her bag and pulled out this.....

I was all of a flutter.... and beamed like a crazy person and exclaimed "my BOOK!!!...... oh thank you thank you thank you!!!"  .... clutching it like a miser with his gold I closed the door and sat down and cuddled it ... rocking with glee

here is my first glimse of the book itself........

.... with little Leveret and Magpie just showing...............

............. and now here she is in all her glory.......... 

(not quite sure why I called the book 'she' but I'm going with it)

with the beloved book in my hands at last I hastily made myself  a cuppa and then sat and READ!

I read and read and read..... only coming up for air to make more tea, get a snack, or have a 'comfort' break. 

the tv wasn't turned on at all on Thursday night..... and I read until I could no longer keep my eyes open.

Friday morning I woke..... made some tea..... and picked up Shaman..... and read!

I finished at 11pm Friday night after the most amazing roller-coaster ride ever!

I laughed.... I cried my eyes out.... and held my hand to my mouth aghast.  that Kit Berry certainly knows how to tell a tale!!!  

I'm not giving away any of the plot..... you'll have to read it for yourself.  get ready for the roller-coaster :-)

until next time, blessings, Willow xXx

Five...... always Five!

just to remind all you lovely people that Kit Berry's Stonewylde Series of books comes to an end with the final book being published this week.

the fifth book in the series is out on the 18th October

if you haven't read the books yet please do get a copy of the first one, Magus of Stonewylde, and you will be hooked from the first page! 

there truely is 'no escape'

this is the new version of Magus of Stonewylde published by Gollancz

as the back cover on the original version of Magus says (below) "an enchanting yet disturbing tale of a hidden community in modern England"

here is the original Magus of Stonewylde which was self-published by Kit.  you may still be able to find these in shops or charity shops.



if you want to read more about the author Kit Berry

or about Stonewylde take a look here

I got an email from Amazon this morning to say that my copy of Shaman of Stonewylde has been dispatched!  I am sooooo excited I can hardly contain myself.  once it arrives I'm afraid I will have my nose inside the book until it is finished :-))

until next time....

blessings, Willow xXx

Willow and Kitty go Adventuring

sorry it has taken me so long to tell you about my adventures in Kitty Campa(van).  I have no excuses.  I just didn't get round to it.  shame on me!

as you know from other posts I bought Kitty on the Wednesday and washed out her cupboards and fridge and packed her up and set off for a campsite near Avebury over 200 miles away... the very next day... the Thursday lol.   I was meeting up with dozens of lovely Stonewylder friends.  we've all read the series of books by Kit Berry and we meet up at least once a year to camp and several times have local meet-ups for a picnic or a meal in a pub. (Kit's latest book about Stonewylde is about to be launched on 18th October.... and is number five in the series.... and the last one)

I set off from home and headed for the big Tescos 15 miles away (it is en-route... sort of).  I had a money-off voucher for fuel at Tescos so I thought I should fill Kitty up with cut-priced fuel for our journey down south.  I also bought a sandwich and put it in my fridge as I thought it would save time when I had 'comfort' stops.

so ..... I was ready to go.  nervous, because I'd just bought Kitty and was hoping all was well with her.  (I did buy her from a reputable garage so there shouldn't have been any problems but you just don't know with mechanical things).

anyway...... I set off from Tescos and got myself on the motorway and turned on the radio.  but all I could hear was static..... no radio..... and I hadn't brought any cds.  humph!  no music or chat then :-(     oh well.... I thought.... I'll just have to sing sing sing ..... and so I did.  and talked to Kitty... encouraging her.  and I also talked to Stephen.  I haven't introduced you to Stephen yet.  he is my SatNav which has the voice of Stephen Fry.  he is a great travelling companion and makes sure I stay on the right road and get to my destination.

I hadn't realised that old campervans go slowly coz they can't go fast!  that had not occured to me when driving my little car behind one especially on a hill.  but they do go slowly.  I thought that there was something wrong with Kitty when we were on the motorway but came to a slight incline and the speed slowed from 55mph to 45mph then to 40mph and then to 35mph.  "oh Kitty don't give out on me" I cried.  but sure enough as soon as we came back onto the flat my speed zoomed up to an exhillarating 50mph!!!

but then it is all about the journey..... not the destination isn't it?

after a couple of hours I would normally have stopped if I'd been in the car.... but I was enjoying tootling along in Kitty and having other campervans flash lights at me and wave (friendly lot).  so I carried on.  thinking I would stop at the next services and then the next and the next..... but never actually stopping.  but eventually after 4 hours of driving my bladder decided that I should stop.  by this time I'd left the motorway and was driving on A roads.  when suddenly it hit me like a cricket bat!  I didn't NEED a service station.... I had a toilet onboard..... and a sandwich in the fridge...... and a kettle and stove to make a cuppa.   so I stopped at the next layby ... closed all the back curtains and got the toilet out of it's little cupboard :-)  .... hands washed, I got my sandwich and put water in the kettle and put it on to boil.  wow!  this is the life!

suitably refreshed I carried on at speeds of up to 45mph...... just cruising :-)

I'd been travelling most of the day and the light was begining to fade.... but I was still 20 miles from the campsite.  I'd been using my indicators all day and assumed the headlights were on the same switch.... but .... panic.... no they weren't.  "how the heck do you turn the lights on?"  I wondered.  

no time to worry about that as I encountered a closed road.  "but I want to go down there" I almost wailed.  but obvously I couldn't so tried an alternative .... "turn around when possible" said Stephen.  "I can't" was my reply.  he'll pick it up I thought.  "turn around when possible" repeated Stephen.  I tried various roads only to be met with "turn around when possible"  grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr shut up Stephen!!

eventually Stephen picked up a route for me and took me down a single-tracked road which looked like it led to a farm.  it was hardly wide enough for the campervan let alone anything I might meet coming the other way!!!  even a dog-walker would have had to scramble up the banking!

the track eventually led to a reasonable road and we were 'out of danger' .... but still no lights.  everyone coming towards me had their lights on.  just me with no illumination.  scarey.  but now I was less than 10 miles from the campsite.  I had visions of having to stop and camp beside the road only a few short miles from my destination.  but there was hope ... as it wasn't dark yet.... just getting dusk.

on and on I drove down leafy lanes and through tiny villages.... I was begining to think that Stephen was lost..... "in 300 yards turn left...... turn right...... turn left...... straight on!"   then............. I saw the campsite sign........... I was here!!!!  just a few yards more and I was safe from Mr Policeman stopping me for not having my lights on!  or worse still safe from having to stop by the roadside and camp all night because it was too dark to drive without lights!!!  I drove up to the barrier and it lifted.... thankfully and in I went.  we have camped here before so I knew where we would be... what field we were in.  but just before I parked up I just had to................................. stop for a tinkle at the 'facilities'. 

then on I drove to the camping field No.9.  "You've no lights on Willow"  I heard them cry.  Swampy plugged in my hookup...... Andy jumped into Kitty and found the light switch and everything was working fine... just me that couldn't see the switch .... the lovely SolsticeDreamer asked for my cup and made me a hot cuppa while Kit asked if I had a glass to put some wine into.  I was home! 

  

.... and here I am safely camped up for the night.  I wasn't on a slope, I think I had tilted the camera or had too much wine :-)

I slept like a log that night and didn't even realise I'd put the bed cushions together wrong, and was sleeping in the gap between them on the bare board lol.  everyone was already up having breakfast before I managed to even open my eyes.

I'm going to love this campervan life!

with blessings til next time, Willow xXx

The Magic Continues

just a tiny blog today :-)

as you know I am working through Rhonda Byrne's book, The Magic.

on Day 5 we worked on money.... getting more of it (that is what the £5 note is for)

......... later I went to the supermarket and saved £5.34 and used a £1 coupon I already had....... so that was £6.34 saved and then received a £1 coupon to use on my next shopping!

yesterday (Day 7) I won a small amount of money!  not much... very small amount actually, only £3... but still a win.  which all together will have added just about £10 to my purse.  now that might not seem much but it is still more than I had before

so thank you Universe for the extra money in my purse.... thank you

please let me know if you decide to buy and work through this book coz I would be so interested in how you find it and if it is working for you.

with blessings til next time, Willow xXx

Crochet in Blocks

I've decided to do a blanket for my double bed.... as a cover for daytime.  but even the sizes I've done before become so heavy.  the biggest one was 40 inches by 60 inches which is only a 'throw' size.  I decided to do the blanket in blocks.... but I have no idea how to do them. so I've got a lovely book from my local library (remembering what I've learned in Rhonda Byrne's book The Magic I'm saying thank you to my local library.... thank you thank you thank you for providing this service) .....

it is totally gorgeous!

shows you how to do edgings.....

..... but I might have to learn how to read those diagrams to do some of the more complecated ones lol.

but just LOOK at these blocks........... in all their scrummy gorgeousness

with instructions :-)

I've got another project that needs finishing first............. but then I'm going to have a go at some of these.  there are even pages where it shows how you could put them together and what colours work well together.

Simples!

I hope :-))

with blessings, Willow xXx

Big & Small Crochet Ta Dah!

just a short post today to show you my two new Ta Dah items! 

first is a little crocheted bag to put crossways over my body to put my keys in when I go out walking.  it is 6 inches square (15cm to you youngsters) which is big enough to carry my mobile phone in too.... and a chap stick for protection from those biting icey winds that are to come eventually.  it has a wooden bead as a button fastener to make it easier to fasten and unfasten without looking :-)

the second is a blanket or throw.

it measures 40 inches by 60 inches (101cm by 152cm) so I'm struggling to find somewhere to spread it out so you can see the whole thing.  but for now... here is part of it

and a close-up of the edging



is done in the old fashioned Granny pattern that people usually do the Granny squares in.  it is the biggest blanket I've done and took about 36 hours to complete, which is less than the Ripple pattern blankets I've done.  it was far easier when sewing up the ends because it is done with one yarn in a random type colour.  usually the Ripple blankets take hours to sew up all the ends.  the yarn used for the main body was King Cole's Melody double knitting in Shade 958

then I finished off the edges going all round the outside with a Granny stitch on the first round in an unusual brown colour, then a single crochet on the next two rounds in orange and then blue to pick out the colours in the main part of the blanket.... and finished off the edging in one round of single crochet in purple and then a round making a little picot-type edging, also in purple.  hope you like it :-)

I decided to edge my ripple blanket too as it makes it so neat...

.... and the colours reminds me of a sunset on a blue ocean with the blue going to yellow, orange and red.  or is it just me? 

well.... that enough showing off my crochet work.  I love doing it and feel so proud of myself.... but I hope the ego isn't getting the better of me.  I'm sure the Universe will slap me down if I step over the mark LOL

with blessings, Willow xXx

The Magic... Day 1 & 2

Well.... I started working through The Magic by Rhonda Byrne on Friday by making a list of all the things I want in my life. 

It was a struggle at first to put pen to paper and say what I want, as I come from an age when we were told "I want doesn't get!". 

But eventually I had a decent list which is meant to be reviewed and changed as you get the things you want.

Then I could start with Day 1

Each morning I have to write down 10 things I am grateful for to the Universe (or God), with the reasons I am grateful for them.

Perhaps this butterfly will be on my list.

I then have to read the list through, one item at a time, and say "thank you" to to the Universe.

On Day 2 morning I have to repeat writing down another 10 things I am grateful for. 

Gosh that is hard to do!  I'm sure by the end of the 28 days I'll have got the hang of it though.

The next task is to find a Magic Rock or Stone.

..... and here is mine. 

I picked it up off a lovely beach in Wales when M and I were on holiday there in April.  As you can see it is a dark stone with lovely sparkly flecks.

When going to bed at night it is the task to pick up the Magic Stone and think of all the wonderful things that have happened during the day and pick the best thing that happened... and be grateful for it.  Not just think of it but really feel grateful for it. 

The stone is to sit by my bed for the (now) 27 days.

Day 3 starts with writing down 10 things I am grateful for....

(seems to be getting harder lol)

but perhaps the sight of this amazing sheep on a shopping trip which brought a smile to my lips should be on my list. 

Today we are working on relationships using photos.

Looking at the photos I have to say what I am grateful for in that person and write down the five best ones.... saying thank you to the person in the photo.  It was really difficult to choose just three photos to work on but I finally rested on these three.  

During the day I am to look at the photos and say thank you to the people in them.

I have always thought I was grateful for my lot in life.... but I've never said "thank you" so much in my life lol.

It is 10pm and so it is time to hold my Magic Stone and think of all the wonderful things that have happened today and decide which is the best one.

 

There is no rush. 

I love holding the stone and transfering my gratitude to it.... making it truely magical.

I've only been doing this the shortest while... but already it feels so right and having the stone there as something solid and tangible is wonderful.  Thank you Rhonda Byrne.... thank you, thank you  <3

with blessings, Willow xXx

The Magic Begins

Last weekend I went to the Harrogate Health and Healing Fair and there I spotted a book by Rhonda Byrne. 



The Magic really grabbed my attention and I read the first couple of chapters right there and then. 

it is one of those books where you work through it for 28 days.... so I flicked through the rest of the book.  I've bought those type of books before and given up after a few days, sometimes due to boredom, sometimes due to the fact that they were too complicated, and sometimes because I had difficulty finding the items needed for the tasks.

It looked simple enough

..... so I bought it.

"Those who don't believe in magic will never find it" wrote Roald Dahl

I want to change my life and bring magic into my life.... so.....

I believe, I believe.

I'll blog later this week to let you know how my first days are going.

with blessings, Willow xXx

Rippling Kitty

As you already know ... I bought an old campervan in May and called her Kitty.  She was 19 years old last month..... so she is an old lady.  But she still has plenty of life left in her, which was demonstrated by the fact that the day after I bought her we went on a 500 mile round trip!

Since I purchased her we have done 1000 miles together.  Not bad for two old girls LOL.

Kitty has an elevating roof which makes it the best of both as when driving the roof is down so less drag (so less fuel used) and just push the roof up when parked so that I can stand up inside throughout her length (except the cab area).

Kitty has a 4-burner gas hob, a sink and drainer, a large fridge, and room for 4 people with seat belts while travelling. 

But I prefer to have the seats set out so that I have a small sofa to sit on and this leaves the single seat and the passenger seat (which swivels round) for inside seating in the camper.

Even with my crocheted blooming flower cushions on, this seat looks drab, especially with the crazy curtains that were in Kitty when I bought her.

I decided she needed brightening up before very much longer.  I've done a bit to the outside as you saw in my last campervan post, but the inside definately needed something on the upholstery.  I don't possess a sewing machine so I decided to crochet some loveliness.

..... and here she is!  My very first ripple blanket finished in May this year in readiness for buying a camper. Thanks to Lucy at Attic 24 and her amazing blog containing really interesting stuff and brilliant patterns.  You might notice my blooming flower cushions are from Lucy's blog too :-)

The blanket has been made from leftover acrylic yarn from other projects plus some specially bought yarns in lovely bright colours.  It took a long time to crochet as I was a bit foolish and didn't do a smaller project while I learned the pattern.... so I ended up pulling it out a few times when I realised that the pattern had gone wrong (after sometimes crocheting for over an hour).  Lucy did warn anyone crocheting the ripple to try it out on a smaller swatch..... but I thought I was clever lol.

I'm over half-way through a cover for the single seat in bright ripply loveliness to 'match' the sofa.  I'll be sure to blog with pictures when I'm finished it.

More campervan adventures soon.

with blessings, Willow xXx



Lovely Kitty Campervan

I thought you might be interested in my campervan, Kitty.  She's an old girl.... nearly 20 years old.... but lovely.  She is a transit van with a factory conversion and elevating roof.

I bought her in May and the very next day I drove her down over 200 miles to Avebury for a week camping in her (will blog about that soon) doing a round-trip of 500 miles!  All I had time to do was to wash out her cupboards and fridge.  Being desperate to decorate her on the outside I had to wait for some rain-free time.

Here is what she looked like when I first bought her...

she already had the blue and gold stripes down the side and said Campa on both sides and on the front



I ordered lots of lovely stickers from Hippy Motors and waited for an ideal day.  the weather was terrible on each day that I could spare the time to decorate her.
 
I really wanted to get her done before I went on a meet-up with friends in Oxfordshire at the Rollright Stones (blog coming soon)

the 20th August was the day!  sunny but not too hot..... no rain..... no wind..... so I could start. 

I first decorated the side panel....

with a golden hare gazing at the moon.

the next thing I did was start decoration on the bonnet and I decided on Kokopelli

but the day was so lovely I had to make the most of it and headed off to some local lakes... which is where the above bonnet photo was taken.

so the next part of the decorations had to wait until the 28th August.... just in time for going away and meeting friends on the 31st.

I added a little guardian angel to the bonnet under Kokopelli.

if you have ever driven an old campervan, or been stuck behind them on a hill, you will know how slow they are. 
so the next sticker to go on Kitty was.....

"If you think this is slow wait until we hit a hill"

..... and then...... "Home is where you park it" which had been bought for me by M several years ago when I first voiced that I wanted to 'Live the Dream' and buy a campervan.

I managed to take off the word Campa from the bonnet as it was tatty .....

...and decorated with squiggles to cover where it used to be.

I'd had an idea for the side panel with the hare so that was next to be finished....

..... with stars, fairies on mushrooms, and fairies flying through the sky.

close-ups of fairies on mushrooms........

....... and fairies reaching for the stars

But the passenger side still had nothing on it..... I loved the fairies so much that I decided to repeat them on the other side.... but much bigger and bolder....

..... with a cute little Hippy Motor's car and driver.

I finished off her bonnet with some lovely silver stars.

So this is Kitty Campa's decorations............. so far :-)

Now.....dare I go onto Hippy Motor's website and order more stickers???  LOL.

Hope you enjoyed meeting my lovely Kitty.  I'll blog about her interior next time.

with blessings, Willow xXx