In my genealogy research I have found that one of my 12th Great Grandfathers, Sir Miles Crosby, was a Royal Archer in the reign of King Henry VIII. How cool is that?
Does Katerina approve of my latest knitted squares blanket? A work in progress.Big Cats – Domestic August 28, 2016
As I sat at the computer early this morning, my cat snug beside me and the computer, I looked out at the apple tree in the neighbor’s and – shock – what was I seeing in the grass beside the apple tree??. A BIG cat looking like a wild animal. I am not in Africa! This is just an ordinary house in suburban Seattle. Small houses and rather small gardens. But this cat was BIG and had markings similar to our now alert cat Katerina. I googled big domestic cats and found a few 
The Big Cat in the grass near the neighbor’s apple tree started to move – sure enough, it wasn’t all that big – it was just rather fat and fluffy. Not dangerous after all – and lovable I’m sure.
My photos don’t do it justice. Maybe she’ll come closer to visit next time.
Katerina keeping her eye on her “friend” wandering away – that’s the speck in the grass in the distance
Katerina – the smaller the box the betterStitchery In The 18th Century
Stitchery in the 18th century at the Colonal Paul Wentworth House, Rollingsford New Hampshire
Autumn Is Coming
We went up to the Skagit Valley for a 24 hour getaway. It was wonderful. It is such a beautiful area between the mountains and the sea. Fields of fruit trees, flowers, corn and much more . This morning I took an early morning amble outside our bedroom. I thought I was in the Garden of Eden, a pear tree, a plum tree, fruit just dropping at my feet – and then a cat appeared to confirm my feeling. She/he scampered off and disappeared in the field of corn.
Yesterday evening there was a great squawking overhead. We went out on our deck to see what that was all about. GEESE – IN V FORMATION. Superb!
I had the intention of possibly finding/buying a painting of this beautiful valley – but failing that I feel inspired to try creating one oneself. There is a lot of subject matter!
pears abound 
Ripe for the picking. and note all the pears and plums on the ground
Sherringham August 25, 2016
There are not so many parts of the UK which I have not visited. Actually, I have not yet made it to Northern Ireland – the 6 counties. But elsewhere I have been most places.
But Sherringham in Norfolk I barely know although I have been there. It features on my railway poster calendar for this month.
Artwork here is by Tom W Armes and the poster was used from 1948 to 1965.
I look at this and wonder how I have come to miss the place. As ever, a railway poster makes a place look very special. When I was there, back in 2005, I took a couple of photos.
Well as you can see, I’m not quite in the place. We went to a National Trust owned area – Sherringham Park.
Sherringham is on the heritage North Norfolk Railway
The railway station in Sherringham featured a modern clock…
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Two New Patterns August 23, 2016
I always love it when Barbara Brown of Ancient Arts Yarn emails me asking for a pattern. This year it has happened twice.
The first one is crochet. I have been doing quite a bit of crochet design for The Art of Crochet, and I had told Barb about a shawl I did for them. She asked me to do one for AAY in their new bulky yarn. Of course I said yes.
Being a child of the 60s I hanker towards hippy fashion! I love the current trend for fringing so I designed a shawl which would go both with floaty summer and evening dresses, with jeans and boots AND wrap round to form a warm winter scarf.
The shawl comes in two sizes, about 56 (75)” long x 15 (20)” wide; approx140 (188) x 37(50) cm excluding the fringe. The smaller one takes 2 skeins of Big Squeeze…
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My Ancestor The Explorer/Adventurer
My latest discovery – one of my ancestors was a member of Sir Francis Drake’s exploratory mission to Spanish America and around the world. in the 1500’s.
John Wheatleigh, my 10th Great Grandfather, married Dorothy Willoughby, the daughter of Arctic explorer Hugh Willoughby who was one of the 164 Gentlemen and Sailors who accompanied Sir Francis Drake on his expedition to Spanish America and around the world.
Sir Hugh “The Navigator” Willoughby
A Short Analysis of Thomas Hardy’s ‘Channel Firing’
A summary of a classic Hardy poem
Thomas Hardy’s poem ‘Channel Firing’ is one of his most popular poems; it was also, perhaps, the most prophetic. Written in April 1914 and published in May of the same year, just a few months before the outbreak of the First World War, it anticipates the conflict that would break out later that year. A brief analysis of the poem should help to show why ‘Channel Firing’ is such a favourite anthology piece among Hardy’s poems.
Channel Firing
That night your great guns, unawares,
Shook all our coffins as we lay,
And broke the chancel window-squares,
We thought it was the Judgement-day
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