Theresa in the frozen sky with diamonds🎶….

Its official, winter is upon us for real, not just here though,oh no, but just as our summer was filled with unrepentant heat….Winter will have her turn, For weeks now we have had thick bone chilling fog, frosts, or rain.. And today was to be no exception to that rule,. I suppose in a way we were somewhat lucky ….it had gone from minus 5 in the night to a balmy minus 2 by day.. …. waking up I looked out onto a very very different world indeed, different in every way, but also breathtakingly beautiful,

The sky cloudless, a brilliant cobalt blue, the sun trying it’s best to convince me it was nowhere near as cold as the overly excited weather man had related just moments previously,. Even though I had spent the night shivering under numerous fleece blankets, dressed up for a polar expedition, (doing the layers we advised to do by so called experts), so it’s not as if the evidence wasnt there in the offing,. I swallowed down my first coffee, it was infact still scalding(but you have to be in love with that very first cup of the day), hugging my mug closely, in my still cold hands to make the most of its warmth,(in these temperature,s though this is but a passing comfort…Dressing isn’t only a routine now, it’s a must……

I immediately go out into the garden to feed the birds, in the full knowledge if I’m cold in here, then logic tells me the birds must be almost frozen to their perchs, poor wee things, little feathers all fluffed up in vain hopes of trapping air close to their bodies….Ive taken to going out with my kettle full of hot water to defrost the solid barrier of ice, preventing them from being able to drink, it’s become an integral part of my morning ritual now and one despite the bitter cold, I’m more than up for this, it not only warms their water just slightly, I also adore the delicious sound of it crackling with the hot waters first impact….

In those few moments out doors, I look about me in a childish wonder, every tree, twig, and blade of grass is covered in a glorious white icy coating….shining beautifully in the watery sunlight, I’m enamoured with this natural wonder at once, ….And before I know it, I’m throwing on my hoodie, trainers and grabbing keys plus phone…..I don’t give myself much time to think this through, or talk myself out of a rather hastily made decision, (which maybe on reflection would have indeed been wise)…before I know it I’m out the door, hardly dressed for the occasion I might add(I don’t as yet own a coat or jacket even, the icy chilling cold air is soon invading my clothes, indeed within minutes my ears hurt, face aching and my lungs are on fire, seems residual scarring from Covid is still making itself boringly known….

Even with all these rather unpleasant sensations, i am I admit freely, still very blindly awestruck by this wintry white new world, unsure where to look first, My phone is out of my pocket and with somewhat shaking hands I’m taking pictures, one after another……trees decorated with sparkling white dust, their normally naked black branches reaching up like they clamour for what little warmth the sun offers. Every grass blade without exception sparkling and crisp under foot, I love the crunch sound as I walk with childish deliberation leaving footprints in my wake..,…I had though only been out some 15 minutes or so when I begin to find the chill intolerably, seems fleece hoodies are little barrier to Jack frosts searching fingers, my face whipped by freezing winds, felt tight and sore, my lips numb ….despite loving my walk, I soon had little choice but to return back home again, as cold as I had felt indoors, it was nothing compared being outside in minus temperatures, my heart goes out to anyone living rough right now, it has to be unbearable and soul destroying, for both humans and pets alike.

Back home….

For some unknown reason this year I’ve struggled with gift choosing for my loved ones,very aware that if they want something they mainly buy it for themselves..but after three weeks of frenzied playing Santa’s big helper, I have finally got to a point that I’m semi happy with…apologies family if it’s not you …

Since late October, I have started doing those Diamond painting pictures…If you’ve seen them and been tempted dont!!!!!!, No really those tiny little glittery Gems that tempt us with their twinkling are devil’s demons…..They break free without a moment’s hesitation…..one night, (well actually in reality it was 3am, I sat in my icy living room, donned in my best Christmas apparel….shorts and t shirt, back bent over my coffee table doing one painstakingly Gem at a time, working on a Christmas card….See let’s go back a bit, so I can fill you in more on this demonic delight of a hobby…

It all looked so restful on youtube…delightful ladies smiling excitedly, such happy voices, making it look oh so easy to not be fooled….I was reeled in hook line and sinker….(sucker!!!!).After watching a few videos I rushed onto Amazon as one does😁, I ordered a diamond picture,diamond Christmas cards, diamond Christmas tree decorations, diamond keyrings, I went demonically diamond crazy….I was excited beyond belief, finally a hobby I could do, not just do though but it would help me relax…..unlike the year we were all talked into colouring those tiny pictures in adult colouring books, it was going to be oh so calming, mindful and I would be filled to the brim with Zenfulness(that an actual word even do we think?), I bought every type of pencil, glitter pen known to mankind….as each new colouring book appeared on the shelf, I grabbed it in desperate search the promised land of calm….ahem! Did they actually try staying in those tiny overly complicated lines…..nooooo!!!!! Well let me tell you I did, if anything I was far from a picture of calmness, the air was blue with a foreign tongue, as pencil after pencil, and books flew lethaly across the room…😃

Any way I digress as usual, I was excited on the expected arrival date of my diamond parcels, I could not wait to get started, …looking forward to relaxing with this new jewel of a hobby….when it did arrive though, it turned up in the most massive box, I was I must say somewhat taken aback…but tore into it excitedly, here i was on day one of my brand new hobby…..

It begins………

So what you get…..a picture, of course 😁, which is covered in a layer of clear protective plastic film, as the entire picture is coated in a layer of adhesive. You get a pink pen like applicator…(This already does not bode well, blooming pink!, It’s a sign)…..Then there’s a tiny green tray like thingy, more pink in the form of an inch square of glue or wax depending where your from, last but by no means least, pack upon tiny pack of coloured gems…..these quickly became my enemy number one…..I peeled back the plastic barrier with a nervous trepidation, opening a first pack of the minute plastic gems then pouring out a tiny amount of the colour I chose (now take into account this things come with absolutely no instructions….ok it’s not rocket science folks….but trying to match up the packet number with the equally tiny numbers on the picture isn’t always easy, some don’t actually have numbers choosing instead to confuse their customers with letters…..but not to be put off, I stayed with it until I figured this out, I was indeed determined…..

Another thing I soon learnt to my cost, is once you open one of these small packet gem prison,s ……these gems are just itching to break free…..And they do so spectacularly….within an hour I had gems everywhere, days after starting, I suddenly sneezed, the green tray in my left hand jumped uncontrollably sending those precious little dears everywhere, over me, over my table, floor and anywhere on the picture but where they are supposed to go, (remember now that adhesive coating, oh how I do) I spent two whole days with teeth gritted painfully picking off each gem with my nails…..this was not quite how I imagined this going, I did not look happy, relaxed and filled with joy like those sweet ladies on youtube……no instead Jesse was faced daily with a head spining, foaming at the mouth, swearing like a Navvy madwoman……(ok hun madder even than usual 😁….

I soon became rapidly aware the art of Diamond painting is not to be sneezed at😁😁😁😁😁😁😁, it’s hard graft, takes unlimited patience, which I’m not sure I posses,….sitting sticking one tiny gem at a time, when there’s thousands…..And those Gems are out to get you!, No they are seriously, ……I’ve got them everywhere, one whole packet of white ones broke free one night spiralling over my green shaggy rug….(you ever tried retrieving tiny plastic particle,s from a long piled rug……I did for seconds, just seconds too…..then opting to leave them instead exactly where they landed, for days even after I had vacuumed my carpet looked like I had the first ever indoors frost.(I mean it is cold enough but this wasn’t funny, the tiny sparkling gems twinkled under the light, almost as if mocking me……I’m now doing my best to ignore them…..it’s not working out well, it’s become a vendetta…..

Battle Glittery gem line drawn in my carpet, I spent a whole week last week doing the last of the diamond cards while listening to Swedish Nordic noirs, odd thing was I had far more of an understanding of what was happening on the programme than I did the card I worked on….😃, But I persevered, and ten cards are winging their way to their recipients…..excuse the mess folks 😁😁, but they were made with love, if not with a touch of madness thrown in…..shopping is finally completed, cards sent, tree is looking resplendent covered in its glass snowflakes and icicles, twinkling LEDs, red berries and baubles……as I pull tightly shut the thick curtain,s, closing off the darkness as well as the freezing chill, candles flicker…I warm, cozy and despite the diamond hell relaxed…..maybe this is what they mean, although I somehow doubt it folks……..stay warm, stay well and most of all look after yourselves…….💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎💎x