Quite a bit to write about. On Thursday, I attended the first in a two class series over at Busy Bees, learning how to make an embroidered felt bag. I'll write more on the detail of this over on my craft blog, but it was a wonderful morning. Around a dozen ladies gathered together with a table each to work on, and when Sandra our tutor was demonstrating a stitch she called us into the middle to sit in a circle round her to watch, learn and practice. The room was filled with laughter and learning, a busy purposeful enjoyment and concentration. It was also an opportunity for Sandra our tutor who is a very gifted teacher, to share with us precious memories of how her grandmother had taught her to stitch, sitting on a log in the forest outside Cefn Mably nearly sixty years ago. I found this deeply moving, as Sandra obviously valued and cherished these wonderful memories and still used and enjoyed the skills her grandmother had taught her. Like most people my age, all my grandparents are now dead, but I am very lucky in that my great aunt (now in her nineties) is still alive and is a wonderful link to those childhood memories, as well as being a much loved and appreciated family member. One of the things that saddens me greatly is when I hear about family/marriage breakdowns that then results in grandparents as well as parents being estranged from young children. The relationship with a grandparent can be a very special thing for a child, a great gift and a wonderful opportunity for learning - how tragic if that is lost.

After a wonderful morning learning that seemed to fly by, it was time to come home. On Friday I had to drive down to Pontardawe to a wash-up meeting for the Welsh Festival of the Horse. I was armed with some chutney for Penny and a selection of herb cuttings for our mutual friend and greyhound activist Margaret. Taking the bag of cuttings into the meeting, the herbs kept wafting their fragrances up to us - mint and sage, clean and refreshing, it was lovely just to bury your nose in the bag. The meeting went well, and it is still undecided if there will be another festival in two years time.

Saturday and Sunday seem to have flown by. Andrew has been busy in Paula's garden, doing some work for her, laying some slabs and gravel so the dogs can go out without getting muddy. I've been doing my homework from the first class, which is to do the embroideriy on my felt bag, ready for it to be lined and sewn together in the second and final class. As a way of practicing, I used a template and cut out some Christmas ornament shapes from felt and then used my Crop a Dile to punch some holes in the top for a ribbon. I then embroidered across the ornament and finished up with some beading. I attach a couple of pics of them - I think the idea could be refined further but is basically a good one. Watch this space. As a kind thank you, Paula gave Andrew a bottle of port (he has loved port since I first met him) and we had a glass tonight after dinner with our blue cheese and crackers. Lovely. What a wonderful end to the weekend, and a really enjoyable couple of days.