Happy New Year and A New Life in El Valle, Panama

HAPPY YEARS EVERYONE

 My Partner Gregg and I have now officially retired and moved to El Valle, Panama.

Never again will we have to endure a Canadian winter. Here in El Valle, Panama we have 2 seasons wet and dry. The average daily temperature is about 27 and the night time temperatures average 22 and it is like this year round. The one thing that is really different is the winds we get here are crazy. Last night they were blowing so hard they were blowing furniture across the patio. The town of EL Valle is in the crater of a dormant volcano. It is the second biggest inhabited crater in the world. Located about 2 1/2 hours from Panama City at an elevation of about 600 meters and with a population of 5,000 this tropical wonder has to be seen to be believed. The town is surrounded by lush green mountains and there is vegetation everywhere you look. Every tree that you look at is covered with orchids, bromeliads and ferns planted by mother nature.

This year my blog will have lots of pictures from here and some tatting here and there.

This is the view that we get to look at each morning as we have our breakfast on one of the covered patio's. Below is a scan of the snowflakes that I made and gave to friends this Christmas. This is a Celtic Snowflake and the pattern is from Ruth Perry. Thank you Ruth these made impressive gifts for my friends and they loved them. 

Tatting and Tuesday's Inspiration

Celtic Snowflake. Pattern by Ruth Perry.

"Yes, know thy self: in great concerns or small,

be this thy care, for this, my friends, is all."

-Juvenal

Monday's Message

Now this is whaat Ruth Perry's 2008 Celtic snowflake is supposed to look like. This snowflake was tatted using DMC Cordonnet size 30 Ecru thread.
"There's harmony and inner peace to be found in following a moral compass
that points in the same direction regardless of fashion or trend."
_____ Ted Koppel

Lesson Learned

This Celtic Snowflake was designed by Ruth Perry for the year 2008. I don't know about other experienced tatters but I can now tat without looking at my tatting very much or so I thought. I was watching a very interesting show on television and as you can see I made A mistake in my tatting. Oh well, they say each snowflake is original and this one sure is.

The Quote for the day is;
"Whenever conscience speaks with a divided, uncertain, and disputed voice, it is not the voice of God.
Descend still deeper into yourself, until you hear nothing but a clear, undivided voice,
a voice that does away with doubt and brings with it persuasion, light and serenity."
_____ Henri F. Amiel

Busy, Busy, Busy

Unfortunately I am unable to post pictures as I am temporarily located at my partners Dad's house where I am looking after him for a couple of weeks as he recuperates from knee replacement surgery. I am Keeping busy in the tatting world tatting Ruth Perry's Celtic Snowflake in Apple Blossom HDT. It makes nice bright snowflakes for the Christmas tree. I am now trying to decide what colour to tat the remaining snowflakes I need to make and it is a toss up between burgundy and variegated yellow. What do you think?

Tis The Season

I remember reading a few months ago some tatting members posts that said they did not gift their tatting as it was not appreciated. Now I can understand how awful it would feel to gift a piece of tatting to someone and for them to not appreciate it. I mean what a waste of time and effort and there are a lot of people who would be more than happy to receive a piece of tatting as a gift. Luckily for me I have 8 people on my gift list who are only to happy to receive a piece of tatting for a Christmas gift. They all appreciate the time and effort that goes into making there gift and they treasure them each year. I enjoy making there gifts as it means more to me than just going out to the mall and purchasing something and it gives me a chance to share a bit of me. The bonus this year is that with the way the economy is, homemade gifts are going to be a lot more common.

In case you were wondering this years gift is Ruth Perry's Celtic Snowflake which I know everyone will love.

The Seasons are Changeing

We have a special maple tree in our backyard that is very pretty. It is a Celtic Maple and the leaves are changing colour and are falling off. It is a very rare tree and I have not seen one anywhere else. Here is a picture of the leaves as they fall from the tree.

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On to a completely different topic. With all the talk of acid rain, pollution and global warming I think we are in for some big changes. One thing that is going to change that I do not think people have thought of is that the colour of snowflakes is going to change. As it passes through the sky it is going to pick up pollution and I think it is going to look something like this.

Of course the Celtic part is just wishful thinking and I must thank Ruth Perry for that and the colour inspiration is Marilee's (YarnPlayer) Knitty Gritty size 30. Actually snow might not be so bad if it was this pretty

A Great Tatting Day

The Fringe Element Tatting Days where a big success. I attended the Saturday events and had a wonderful time. It was so nice to get together with a bunch of tatters and be able to talk about what you are doing and everyone understands. I attended a workshop led by Ruth Perry and she taught us a Celtic maple leaf. I will show a picture when I make one with the HDT I am expecting from Marilee. (YarnPlayer) Ruth was a great teacher with lots of patience and an easy going manner that made everyone comfortable and confident in there tatting. Lots of other classes where offered and when we first arrived we received a wonderful goodie bag. The facilitators also where prepared and had chocolate available at every table. ( a must for tatting ) There where lots of vendors and raffles and an auction. All in all it was a wonderful day.