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

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

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

A Catch-up In Pictures ~ Part 5

In the catch-up we are now well into August

August 2012 continued .....

My next trip was to meet up with some wonderful friends at Conisborough Castle near Doncaster in South Yorkshire.

at the picnic

as it kept spitting with rain we decided to have our picnic under the ancient beech tree

our group ranged from small children to adults over 60 (and a lot more.... but I dare not post the ages lol).... and we were joined by two of our canine friends. 

it was the weekend of the re-enactment.....

....which was exciting for the kids :-)
while us adults just chatted, ate and chatted some more LOL
we had a lovely day out and I can't wait for the next one when we all meet up again.

Kitty the campervan and I went on a trip out for an afternoon to some local lakes for some peace and quiet (I'll blog about Kitty next time)

I made a cuppa and sat re-reading my Stonewylde book by Kit Berry in readiness for the release of book 5, Shaman of Stonewylde, in October 2012

at about 7pm I headed home but the light was so lovely I stopped in a layby......

..... to photograph the shadows on a field of corn

the photos didn't come out with the same beautiful colours that I'd seen that evening.... but then cameras can't pick up the subtle things without being manipulated can they.

I've had such a busy summer and haven't really told you all that I did.  I'd love to tell you about my wonderful adventures away in Kitty.... but that will have to wait for another time.

well that is it..... all the summer updates for now....
five of them......

as quoted from Stonewylde books "Five, always Five"  LOL

next time I'll be writing about the decorating of my lovely Kitty

til then.... blessings, Willow xXx

Spring and St David's Day

It's been an interesting week this week.  Although the weather isn't unseasonally cold there has been very little activity in the nesting box with the camera.  This has been very disappointing.  But I am assured that things can only get better lol.

We've had a bit of sunshine this week and lovely blue sky on occasion........

The garden is looking good and all the plants seem to think it is time to come out of winter and welcome the Spring.

Japanese Flowering Cherry Tree

the Japanese Flowering Cherry is starting to burst out of it's winter hibernation..........

Evergreen Jasmine

..... the evergreen Jasmine that I planted last year is thickening up..........

.... and ladybirds are everywhere :-)


On Thursday it was St David's Day so I bought a couple of pots of those tiny daffodils...... they are so beautiful with their trumpets heralding the Spring.

Also on Thursday Dr David Hamilton was visiting Shipley Library to give a talk on his new book Choice Point so I decided to go along.  I caught the train at Garforth station where all the ironwork is painted red and cream......

..... it really brightens things up.

As I'd arrived too early to meet up with M... I decided to take a walk by the canal.......

..... the reflections were so lovely.

...... even the chimneys look great with these swans rippling the water.....

..... just magnificent..... and majestic!!!!

I met up with M..... and we headed off for something to eat before the talk. 

David Hamilton's talk was brilliant as always.  He is one of the top speakers I've ever had the pleasure to hear.  He is so inspiring and energising.  Here he is in a candid moment with his lovely partner Elizabeth as they sort out the video camera.  

If you are interested in David you will find snippets of his talks on YouTube...... for example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTozQ1OcUg4 ....... and lots of his books published by Hay House on Amazon, in book shops and in your local library.  My favourite book of his is 'It's The Thought That Counts'.  You can also find him on Facebook :-)

I stayed overnight with M as the talk didn't finish until 9.30pm .... so after chatting with David and Elizabeth and some others at the meeting (and getting my copy of David's book signed) we headed off at about 10pm to M's house.

Friday morning M went off to work and I came home to this..........

........... yes......... what was a beautiful dawn mist on the Pennines was thick fog at home!!!

Hope you are all having a lovely sunny weekend.

Blessings, Willow x