Hello Friends and Happy Tuesday and Happy Ides of March!

Hope you are all well and enjoying your Tuesday.  Today is my birthday and to celebrate I have some gifts to share with you which I will talk about later in the post. I haven’t opened any of my presents yet but two of them came from overseas and on the customs label it said “craft supplies”  aargh!  I’m sure they will be full of lovely things but I am trying to get rid of craft supplies and now I have more, there is no escaping the craft supplies hahaha.  Today was supposed to be dry and sunny and I was looking forward to that so I could get out to the garden and do some tidying up, but instead the forecast changed to cloudy with showers, oh well never mind, plenty to do inside the house!  For my birthday I treated myself to new glasses since the old glasses were pretty banged up and scratched so it was about time, plus my prescription had changed a little so I gave myself the gift of better vision lol.  I guess a lot of people will be celebrating St Patrick’s Day this week as it happens on 17th but the 15th is also the Ides of March, which is also a significant day but with a lot less green beer.  It’s something I have always known about because of it being my birthday, but if you don’t know what I am talking about, here is some information:

Ides simply referred to the first new moon of a given month, which usually fell between the 13th and 15th. The Ides of March is the 74th day in the Roman calendar, corresponding to 15 March. It was marked by several religious observances and was notable for the Romans as a deadline for settling debts. Julius Caesar, was stabbed to death in the Roman Senate house by 60 conspirators led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus on March 15. The day later became infamous as the Ides of March. Shakespeare immortalized the phrase “Beware the ides of March” in his play about those events.

today’s art ? . . .

…another week has gone by and I have done no art however I have been painting!  Walls not pictures 🙁  I took a break from all that decluttering to do some home improvements including fixing up a few little things that needed doing and then doing a lot of painting.  My poor hands did not like that at all.  Holding a paintbrush to paint a picture is OK but holding a paintbrush to paint whole walls is very painful.  However it is long overdue so I am trying to do it in stages and not aggravate my hands too much. Apologies if I didn’t get around to everyone last week as my hands were so cramped up they were useless for typing or anything else. 🙁

decluttering. . .

…is on hold this week due to all the painting and DIY, but I do have a collection of stuff waiting to be packed in the car for next week.  Everything must go!  Just kidding, not quite everything, but a lot of it really has to leave the house… and soon!

kitty update. . .

Mr G is doing a bit better this week and I can tell he feels a little bit better as his mood has definitely improved and he is playing. There is a video that goes with this photo but I haven’t uploaded it yet, hopefully it will be done by the time the post is ready otherwise it will have to wait till next week.

OK here comes the video! Miss Lily is on the right making cute little meows and Mr G is on the left making annoyed huffing sounds at me because he wants what I have in my hand. Can you guess what it is?

(Video viewing time: 25 seconds)

garden. . .

Would you believe it but the frogs are still laying their eggs in the pond – at this rate they will completely fill it up!  I took some close up frog photos if you are interested in frogs. Oh and a short video…

(Video viewing time: 22 seconds)

It’s not very exciting but you can see them move a little when I waved the bamboo over them lol.


They’ve been at it for days, zooming up and down the pond – they are creating such great wakes behind them, that it’s visible from the house like Jaws moving through the water lol.  I was hoping to get out and fix part of the pond liner before they arrived but now it’s too late as I don’t want to disturb them.  Even though they think it’s Spring, it’s been freezing at night and the pond has had ice on it so I hope the little tadpoles will be able to grow and hatch OK.

t stands for  . . . birthday cake and tea gifts

Just a very small one from a shop, not handmade, but it is coffee and walnut flavour which is one of my favourites. I have some presents that all arrived in the mail and are waiting to be opened.  I also have some cards including this gorgeous pop up one from a dear friend whose birthday is also this month – look at the beautiful 3D tree!  Homemade spelt wholemeal bread, toasted, banana on top, a small piece of cake because if you can’t eat cake for breakfast on your birthday, when can you, right? My current tea is the Pukka Blackcurrant Beauty which is really delicious and not at all as I expected it to taste, so I’ve been drinking it a lot this last week.

As I mentioned at the top of the post, I have some gifts to share with the Tea Gang if you want to receive a gift that is.  Perhaps you don’t and that’s OK too.  I am getting rid of craft supplies and various other things from my house, so I have put some little packages together that are nice and light for mailing, and related to tea day.  If you would like to receive one, just let me know in the comments and I will email you for your address.  The packages will be mailed from Scotland and I’m happy to post them anywhere as they are just small and light.  I thought since it is my birthday, I would share the love 🙂

Happy T Day!   As always, thanks for reading, stay warm and have a great week!

Ingredients
all the stuff in my house!

Challenges

Altered Book Lover – T Stands for – 

 

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15 Awesome Comments (btw comment moderation is on)
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pearshapedchris
March 20, 2022 7:42 pm

Belated Happy Birthday! Mr G certainly sounds in good form! I’m sorry but I whizzed past the frogs – not a favourite of mine! Love banana on toast though and of course you need cake for breakfast on your birthday, Belated Happy T day,Chrisx.

Nicole/DVArtist
March 16, 2022 5:09 pm

Happy birthday. Lots of birthdays in March. I hope Mr. G is better. Banana on toast, I have never tried it. Have the best birthday.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth
March 16, 2022 12:44 am

Happy Birthday, Elle. An Ides of March birthday girl. Et tu, Brute?

Glad Mr. G is better and that video was cute. Still don’t know what was in your hand, even though I watched it twice.

You had what sounds like a lovely birthday. You got a lovely card from your friend, too. Eye glasses were perfect and fit in with your idea of only buying necessities and still getting a great gift for yourself.

I’m no longer a fan of painting walls, but I would use a roller, not a brush. Had to laugh at the frog antics.

If you are passing out gifts, I would LOVE to have something crafty or artsy or British. Thanks for sharing your birthday breakfast, your tea, and the kitties with us for T this Tuesday, dear Elle. Sorry I didn’t make it by last week, which was due to loss of electricity for nearly 16 hrs on Tuesday.

Kate Yetter
March 15, 2022 8:29 pm

Happy Birthday to You! I had to laugh that you bought yourself glasses for your birthday. Ahh…the things that adults treat themselves to that children would find boring on their birthday. And to think that they want to be adults instead of children.
I too prefer painting paper as opposed to walls. It is hard on my wrist as well as my neck. Glad you are recovering.
Loved seeing the frogs. My bestie growing up loved frogs and we always were by the pond catching them.
Happy Tea Day,
Kate

Iris Flavia
March 15, 2022 7:44 pm

Oh, happy, happy Birthday, Elle – to a wonderful new year in your life!
See. I feel the same with what Ingo does, all the craft supplies – STOP!
He is the creative one but cannot sketch. And me… slow learner.
New glasses, yay! The pair I love most has scratches, too.

We used such a spray-thing to “paint” the walls, quick, but you need either to be strong or do it with a partner.
I held the container, Ingo did the spraying. That was 2011, bet there are better systems on the market now.

Awwww, such a very cute video! And I sure do love frogs, you´ll find many here (King Frogs). Still so cold, eeek.

Love those 3-d-cards.
We have that tea here, too, I think!

If I was a creative artist I would say YES, I “help” you getting rid of your supplies, but I think others deserve it much more.
Nice idea though, hope you had a great day! xx

Valerie -Jael
March 15, 2022 7:40 pm

Happy birthday Elle, enjoy your day! Loved the videos of your kitties and frogs, there’s a lot going on at your place! I love your idea of giving others presents, and would be honoured to receive one. Take care and have a great birthday week! Hugs, Valerie

Lisca Meijer
Lisca Meijer
March 15, 2022 6:30 pm

Happy birthday!!
What a lovely post. I enjoyed seeing your kitties and I played the video several times. They really are beautiful cats!
And some great photos of your frogs.
I hope your hands are not hurting too much. Good on you for doing the painting. Little by little and you’ll get it done.
Your Pukka tea looks yummy. I have a Pukka advent calendar with different tea bags in it. I shall have a look if it has blackcurrant in there too.
Yes, I’d love a little parcel. It’s my birthday next week and it will be a nice little surprise. Thank you so much.
Happy T-Day,
Hugs,
Lisca

Carola Bartz
March 15, 2022 6:11 pm

Happy Birthday Elle! Coffee and walnut cake sounds great for a birthday cake, no matter the size. Your homemade bread looks delicious as well. The frogs in your pond are wonderful, I hope they survive the freeze. Here, we can hear the frogs in the nights in some parts of the county; it’s lovely. Good to hear that Mr G is doing a bit better and I hope he will get even better. Oh yes, a little happy mail from Scotland would be so lovely. This is very generous of you. Happy T day and birthday!

C J
C J
March 15, 2022 5:51 pm

Such a fun post! I loved the kitty video. Mr. G reminds me of my beloved Ink. Ink had 6 white hairs on his chest like the white spot on Mr. G. Miss Lily is adorable, too. Cake for birthday breakfast should be required. Enjoy your special day! Happy Birthday ?and Happy T Day.

Linda K
March 15, 2022 5:32 pm

Happy, happy birthday dear Elle!!! It just happens to be my birthday too- so I always remember the Ides of March;) That is a great card with the pop up tree, and you have made yourself a lovely and festive vignette where you can celebrate and enjoy. Love the frogs, and thanks for the little video clips too. Enjoy the rest of your day, may it be filled with love and happy surprises. Happy T day wishes!

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