Remedy found for body dismorphic syndrome

Today started very wet and very dark. I had to go to the bank for DH and just everyone at the local shops looked like this :( . The cashier at the bank was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders and could barely bring herself to smile for her bedraggled customers.

Now, I know we don't all like rain and this poor lady may well have had more than her fair share of problems but having worked with the public in one way or another all my working life, I absolutely hate with a passion being made to feel unwelcome or a nuisance by people who work in public places. If you don't like it find something you do like and spare us the sulky faces!

Unfortunately for her I don't give in so easily - she wasn't going to cast her glumness off on me. I gave her my best, friendliest smile and she did manage to dredge up a slight 'smile' from the depths of somewhere - trouble was it was so pained she looked like she had wind ;o)


It's so lovely to realise that I am my Mother's daughter!

I thought you might like some rainy day loveliness and found a few goodies on t'Internet to share with you:

Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet - Roger Miller

A rainy day is the perfect time for a walk in the woods - Rachel Carson

The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

and finally from the other man in my life:

There's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes - Billy Connolly

So having cheered up a dreary bank clerk I came home and tucked into a mug of coffee and a slice of this from Jane Brockett's book:

After a lovely exchange of emails with Lucy - thanks Lucy, just what I needed - I got stuck into making the children's advent calendar.

When I put together the head I had made last week with the embroidered 'pockets' I realised something had gone amiss with the scale of the poor beastie. A very severe case of rheindeer body dismorphic syndrome - body too big for your head, mmm I recognise that feeling ... it's

not that my body's too big, just that my head's too small!

I was not about to make new pockets so decided to make a new head and had to upscale quite a bit.

I was determined to make this out of my existing stash - hence the back of the head is several shades darker than the front and the body is made from two Tesco value teatowels. The arms and legs are made from some thick cord from the Scrapstore - which was an absolute bugger (sorry!) as it frayed dreadfully as soon as I cut it.

I sandwiched a piece of flanelette and some wadding between the body front and back to stop it being floppy. I had intended to handstitch the felt for the head, hands and feet but I was so desperate to actually get something finished that I machine stitched it instead.

It could have been put together much better if I had not been in such a rush to just get it done but the finished thing isn't too bad if you don't look too close! I only realised 10 minutes ago that I'd put his antlers on the wrong way round - ah, well.

I'm just relieved that at least I've finished something and hope it's broken my crafty drought :o)

Sausage and Minx love him and want him to stay up until Christmas now!

I can now cross something off my list of 'Things to Make before Christmas'. However, I daresay it will be replaced by something out of this book:

How d'you like my 'photo studio' ? DH has been doing some plastering and is now using the conservatory to store his 'stash' - classy eh?

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments on yesterday's post - those knitted knickers certainly provoked a reaction:o)

No fridge wisdom tonight but I thought this might do instead:

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine - Anthony J. D'Angelo, The College Blue Book.

Loves xxxxxxxxxxxxx