Gettin' Crafty! - Scrabble Tile Ornaments

Have you been getting crafty this Christmas season? Have you gotten the itch to burn your fingertips on hot glue or smell the heady scent of Modge Podge or cover something with felt or paint?

Well a few of my friends and I have been getting our "craft fix" on this winter season preparing gifts and tree ornaments and all manner of other creative projects. We usually get together for a casual "Girl's Night" once a week if possible so for the past month or so we've been hauling our boxes, bags and containers of felt, beads, wire, glue and buttons to each other's houses for Craft Night. We worked on our own crafts or projects or borrowed pieces and supplies from each other to try something new.

Here is an example in my new favourite Christmas Tree Ornament - Scrabble Tile Words

Christmas is almost here...

It's getting closer and closer to Christmas and multicoloured and white lights line the streets and edge the houses; they twinkle and blink and glow, brightening up our winter-dark world. The shiny bright sparkle of ornament-covered trees peek through windows and let the neighbourhood know that Christmas is coming. Batches of cookies shaped like stars, trees, wreaths, and angels line up and wait to be iced and packed for gifts or displayed on platters for post-holiday meal snacking. Christmas is coming.

The music of the Season, whether slow and angelic or jazzy and fun, change the mood in every shopping mall and alter which radio presets are more frequently used in December. They tell of Santa coming to town or a reindeer with a rosy nose or a snowman with a silk top hat or of letting it snow. The haunting melodies of the coming Christ-child fill the air with a mystical wonder of how God packaged himself in the delicate arms of a baby to bring us closer to Him and save us. Christmas is coming.

Advent calendars are almost empty, shopping bags are full of surprises and fridges are being stocked for the big feast. The parties have started, with laughter, gift-giving, games and treats...Christmas is coming.

Some may not have as much as others and charity and help and support is being sought out more than any other time of the year. Food drives are asking, community dinners are finalizing their plans and charities remind you to give all around you. Christmas is coming.

Children count down the sleeps until the night they have been waiting for arrives. Parents wrap late into the night. Grandparents travel or prepare their homes for family to arrive. Snow falls anywhere it can and most of us appreciate the soft white glow that makes the night seem brighter. Christmas is coming.

Lists are made and crossed out one item at a time, turkeys thaw and stuffing prepared, carols are chosen for candlelight Christmas Eve services. Pageants are played out with the likeness of all the Nativity characters in makeshift costumes and homemade wings. Christmas is coming.

The star showed the way and angels spread the word. A weary couple stagger into a town where no room but for some hay amoung the animals can be made for them. And then beyond the low murmur of cattle and sheep, with the piercing cry of a newborn, a baby is born in the night.

Christmas has come.

Our Saviour was born without the trill of a trumpet or a wordy and expensive announcement in every newspaper; He came lowly and quiet with only his mother and earthly father and a few animals to share that precious moment.

Christ arrived as a baby, a human child, yet the Son of God.

This year, let Christmas come to you, though your home may be full or your cupboards empty, let Him fill your world with the warmth of what this Season means - a baby was born to save us all!

The Birth of Christ - by Gerard van Honthorst 1622

Current Reviews - TV, Books, Movies

Who doesn't love a good evening of entertainment?
Ahhh the glow and flash of a TV late at night or the crisp sound of a page being turned or the excitement of getting out and seeing a story played out on a huge theatre screen! What fun!
Have you tried any new TV shows this season? Read any new books lately? Or seen any current movies? Like them? Hate them?

Every so often I take a moment to look back and review a few new shows or books I've enjoyed...or simply just made it through.
Here are my most current thoughts:

Anyone who knows me knows I love movies! I love going to movies and the experience of deciding what to see, getting popcorn or smuggling in drug store candy or the occasional slurpee in my bag! I love buying and owning movies, too, and have quite a large collection of DVDs to chose from.

A-Z Answer Me This!

A-Z Answer Me This:

A. Age: 32.9
B. Bed size: King...hey it was a freebie and Willow the Westie is a bed hog.
C. Chore that you hate: Washing Dishes!
D. Dogs, Dragons: Dog AND Dragons...if they were possible...maybe a very small shoulder-riding dragon.
E. Essential start to your day: Press "Snooze" three times, get up, shower, walk the dog...Ahhh, fresh air!
F. Favorite color: Blue, it's always been blue.
G. Gold or Silver: Silver for sure!
H. Height: 5’4″, just barely. I'm used to being the shortest.
I. Instruments you play: Violin, but not for a while.
J. Job title: "Communications Co-ordinator" - basically a jumble of creating posters, brochures, websites, type-editing, and all visual media.

Things I've Never Done

I've been seeing "Life Lists" on many blogs lately (Angry Julie, Mama Kat) so I felt compelled to try out my own version.


I am 32 years, 11 months and 2 days old.

And I have never:

1. Drank a cup of coffee

2. Been outside North America

3. Seen the Niagara Falls

4. Watched "The Notebook"

5. Hunted an animal

6. Pet a dolphin

7. Gone on a cruise

8. Driven a bus

9. Run any kind of marathon

10. Knit anything

11. Tried surfing

12. Written a novel

13. Broken a bone

14. Help sail a boat

15. Sat on a Mexican beach

16. Sold anything over the Internet

17. Gotten a tattoo

18. Bungee jumped

19. Been to New York

20. Been engaged (to be married)

21. Tasted a beer!


What's your "Never Done" list?


((See my updated LIST and a list of things I HAVE done. >> ))

Star Light, Star Bright...

Last night when I got I home after spending some time with a good friend, I took Willow, my two-year old Westie for a nice walk around my neighbourhood.

The air was cool but it wasn't windy so it felt lovely after the few warm days we've had. And as we walked I noticed that the sky was so clear and full of bright stars. We walked down to one of my favourite little spots right on the ocean front and I just stared up at the sky for a while.

There were bright, sparkling stars that seemed to flicker and twinkle as if they were candles in the windows of the heavens. There were faint dots of light I could barely make out with my tired eyes that blanketed the background of the sky. There were also a few moving specs of light, satellites sailing across the dome above us, circling our world and giving us information or connecting us in ways I can't explain.

Walking Uphill - it's not as bad as you'd think.

Someone recently told me that I needed to update my blog...I guess that means that a few people at least actually read my blog from time to time. So. here I am updating and writing.

My fear of the blank page is being thwarted once again! Horrah!

Many, many things have happened since I last wrote a meaty, beefy, full post!

There There Kitten's Full Disclosure

I just found out that blogs need to have a full disclosure policy because it's the law!
So here is mine:

This policy is valid from 08 June 2011

• This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me, Kirsten Blackstock. It is a place to share my personal reviews, reflections, creative ideas and inspirations. 

• As far as money goes, this blog does not make money in any way and does not accept any form of cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions. However, we will and do accept and keep free products, services, travel, event tickets, and other forms of compensation from companies and organizations. We would love to sample the creations of others and share our thoughts about them. 

• Any gifts or compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. Ever. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. Any advertisements will be identified as paid advertisements.

• The owner(s) of this blog is not compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners. If we claim or appear to be experts on a certain topic or product or service area, we will only endorse products or services that we believe, based on our expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.

• If you have any questions regarding this blog, feel free to contact me at theretherekitten {at} gmail {dot} com.

To get your own policy, go to here.


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Time is...

"Time is

Too Slow for those who Wait,

Too Swift for those who Fear,

Too Long for those who Grieve,

Too Short for those who Rejoice;

But for those who Love,

Time is not.

~ Henry Van Dyke

Time.

When I was young it seemed like I had so much time, yet everything took way too long. Waiting for Jr High, then High School, the wait until I could drive, Graduation...

Then something happened in those years from High School Graduation and the beginning of University...I realized that I missed my younger years already. I missed being a child and having little to no responsibilities, I missed feeling free and unburdened. Not to say that my childhood was perfect in any sense, I mean, it was good and fun, but I had my trials as most children do. If I had to go back and live through my childhood again, knowing what I know now, you can believe that I would stand up to certain bullies, work harder at certain subjects, and never, ever miss an opportunity to have fun!

This feeling of missing my younger years began to shape my personality in my twenties. I wasn't ready to let go and put away childish things. I clung to the fun, the bright, and took chances to keep myself from getting bored or boring. In some ways those years of shaping still linger in me today.

Of Fire and Water...Where I am in 2011

Wow, I just realized I have not updated my blog since last August, 2010!

Yes, life has continued with busy and creative work, awesome friends, a great family including my hilarious twin nephews, a fabulous new sister-in-law and two more new nephews (yes, my brother finally got married!) and my puppy Willow getting bigger and filling my days with energy and fun!

I tried a few new things last year and worked on a few projects but I am still not where I would like to be.

Lately I have come to realize...I am exactly where God wants me to be.

I need not fret and worry over what's next or what I should decide or where should I go...only trust, Trust, TRUST that God has the best plans for me. If I complain or am saddened by where I wish I could be in my life, it's like I'm telling God, "You don't know what you're doing. If I had your power I could do it better!!" BUT I now know and rest in the knowledge that God is in control and that He is preparing me for whatever lays ahead. He is making the pieces of my life's puzzle come together in their own way so that the big picture will hold strong!