The best laid plans........................

Started off this week with great plans to complete all my Christmas bears and update the webpage etc etc. Well as is usual in my hectic life, the best laid plans never seem to work.
Firstly I was offered a temporary assignment for two weeks and as it would have been a nice financial boost just before Christmas, I agreed. The company shall remain nameless but I only managed one day and phoned the agency to say that I would not be returning there. I was give hundreds of catalogue requests to be added to the computer database and as the agency had said I was a fast accurate typist they expected at least 500 cards to be processed each day. I discovered I could only work as fast as the computer could think, hence my deciding that I would be better occupied at home working on my bears!
Tuesday was an auspicious day, the slow boat from South Africa at last arrived with our belongings. Can't believe how many boxes there are, thank goodness for an empty garage. We certainly did not have a big house in Cape Town but at least we had cupboards, don't know where I am going to keep everything. The cats are thrilled to have proper beds and chairs to share with the humans and Merlin found a comfortable spot on top of the boxes to settle for the day. We have piles of empty boxes, bubble wrap and butchers paper to dispose of. As our re-cycling bin is only emptied every fortnight and they do not take bubble wrap, alternative arrangements will have to be made for the disposal. At least we have our Christmas decorations in good time! I must admit to being totally exhausted as it is always a busy time for us as collectors wait for our latest creations.

The Christmas bears are slowly reaching completion and this is a picture of work in progress, bears etc on my table waiting for their final finishing touches. 

I love watching Studio Ghibli DVDs, Japanese fantasy movies. One of my favourites is Howl's Moving Castle. Whilst gazing at the scenery across the open fields earlier this week I spotted a grove of trees on top of the hill. From a distance it looks remarkably like a castle and I had to take a picture, not the best quality as I do not have a fancy camera but here is the fantasy castle not quite like Howl's but then I do have a vivid imagination.

 

The birds are now visiting the garden in increasing numbers and this final picture is of a bird which we think must have flown into the window. I looked all over the garden as I was sure it must have suffered some damage but could find no trace of the bird. The marks on the window have the appearance of an angel or perhaps in a lighter vein an inebriated fairy!

Have a great weekend, more next time after the bears are all completed and my home is in some sort of order again.

The trouble with, "A place for everything and everything in its place" is that there's always more everything than places.  ~Robert Brault