Personally I have always loved bears from a very young age, far more so than dolls. My mother and elder sister tried for years to increase my interest by very kindly providing me various dollies for birthdays and any other excuse for an occasion...I was usually in a spot of bother as a consequence, as Teddy and I waged a constant warfare on these poor beauties, putting them out of sight at the bottom of the cane bassinet that was my toy box to the detriment of their clothing, cutting off their hair, leaving them abandoned outside in the play house and other wicked treatments. Ted and I also made a strict rule to never take them on our adventures, despite the encouragement I received to treat them nicely. Those were the days...just Ted and me against all parental strictures and the inevitable hegemony and powerlessness of being the youngest child, heavily burdened with three older brothers.
For the inchie today I used a photograph of part of my bear sleuth, crocheted during the long cold evenings recently and now looking for homes to go to. (Thanks Sue, for relieving me of three yesterday, I do appreciate it!).
The matting layer is a piece of bee and honey themed cardstock from the stash box...it seemed appropriate enough for someone who read and loved AA Milne's Winnie the Pooh and other books from a very young age...Other books such as Paddington, (much more sophisticated and street-wise than dear old Pooh, preferring marmalade to honey), one of my favourite Little Golden books, "The Big Brown Bear" who had his own vicissitudes with a hive of wild bees...and so many more.
So, I have lots of very fond memories of bears, mostly lost and long gone and can't help thinking what a source of comfort and companionship these simple toys must have provided to young children over the years as I am sure I am not alone in my fondness for them, even now.
In fact, check out these heartwarming links to see what a special young local lad, Campbell Remiss, does with his spare time, his kind and gentle heart and his fondness for bears...he knows, despite his youth, the simple truth that kindness can touches the heart and bring comfort to many, regardless of age.
The seeds I planted a few weeks ago are (almost) all doing well. I had two trays of native wildflower seeds which have been dragging their feet, but just a couple of days ago one of then has started to emerge some tiny green shoots, so I live in hope that it is just a matter of time and patience before the others start to grow.
I have now planted the watermelon seeds sent from my Newcastle Instagram friends last Autumn...if we have a hot, long summer like the last one, we might even get some ripe fruit! Fingies crossed.
We have two family birthdays to celebrate this coming weekend, my brother will turn 70 on Saturday and Sarah's partner, Karina, celebrates her birthday on Sunday...so, a busy card making week this week!
Tim has had a busy week assisting Peter and other volunteers repaint the Three Peaks Gallery. It has kept him busy all week and the tired internal walls are looking bright and very much better than they did before the onslaught. They have done a great job.
Bye for now,
Di