The Big Rumble and the Little Witch - Storytelling Sunday

This is my contribution to the last month of Sian's 2011 Storytelling Sunday.  I am sorry it's late - I wrote it at 4am on Sunday, but I had a bit of trouble with the ending!

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Once there was a Little Witch who was so excited because her friends were coming to her tea party. She was especially pleased that a particular lovely fairy was among them. The fairy had curly hair and a beautiful smile and the little witch thought she was the loveliest fairy she knew.

The friends all came and they began to play together happily. They played leap frog, hide and seek, consequences and "who am I?" And they all had fun and laughed and laughed.

While they were sitting down, having a rest, another little witch said, "the Curly Fairy fell in the mud. She has stinky clothes now and it's making us all feel sick."

The Little Witch thought, "Oh dear, it's my party and I have to look after my friends and be nice to them. I must do something."
So, without any more time to think, she said, very loudly, "Oh, Curly Fairy, you have smelly clothes. I can't let you sit next to the others because you might make them feel ill. Please go and sit on those mushrooms over there."

The Curly Fairy stopped smiling. Her happy face turned into a sad frown and her lovely curls went all droopy (if you know about curly fairies, you will of course know that this is what happens to their hair when they are very sad).  She sat at the table looking lonely and sad, with a big unhappy frown. Even her wings were drooping.

The Little Witch suddenly felt sad too. She was sorry for the Curly Fairy and realised she had hurt her feelings very much. "Why didn't I think before I spoke?" she said to herself.

Then a dreadful thing started to happen. The Little Witch tried to speak, but every time she opened her mouth, she heard a horrible growling sound. It was rather scary and made the Little Witch feel very stupid. No one else seemed to have noticed, however, because they all went on with their picnic. Only the Curly Fairy and the Little Witch were no longer eating the lovely food and laughing together.

The Little Witch tried to speak to the Curly Fairy, to tell her the heavy feeling that was in her heart and how sorry she felt for making the Curly Fairy sad. But all she heard, whenever she opened her mouth, was the odd growling sound.

The Curly Fairy was brave and strong. After a while she began to join in with the others, in their next game. She took off her smelly jacket and shoes, then played in her dress and bare feet.  She began to smile and pulled her droopy wings up. But her curls were still all flat and the Little Witch was sure she was still unhappy, despite her brave smiles.

The Little Witch did not feel either strong or brave. She felt terrible. And still she could hear the growling sound, slowly getting louder. Once everyone was busy again, she crept away into the wood, to find the Wise old Toad and ask his advice.

The Toad was glad to see the little witch and welcomed her most kindly. But the Little Witch said, "Ah, you mustn't be kind to me, for I've been so mean to the Curly Fairy and made her sad. Now, I can't speak and all I can hear is growling. If you can understand me, please help me!"

"Oh dear," said the Wise Toad, "it seems that you have been opening your mouth too wide and letting your tummy rumble. Didn't your mother tell you about that when you were little?"

The Little Witch remembered that her mother had indeed warned her about this. She wanted to cry, but she remembered that she wanted to help the brave and smiling Curly Fairy, so she made herself stay calm. She asked the Wise Toad what she could do to solve the problem.

"You must do Good Deeds." said the Wise Toad, and with that, he gave a big leap and was gone.

The Little Witch was puzzled.  She wasn't sure that she really quite understood what the Wise Toad had said.  "Do Good Deeds."  That sounded very simple, but also very difficult, both at the same time.  What kind of deeds? How did she know what was good?  Why would Good Deeds help her - or the Curly Fairy - anyway? 

She thought she had better return to her party, or her guests would notice she had left them.  When she arrived back, they all said "Oh, where did you go? Are you alright? We missed you!"

The Little Witch felt that she did not deserve to be missed. She was not a nice witch, she was nasty. She had been mean to the Curly Fairy and hurt her feelings. 

But she remembered what the Wise Toad had said - "Do Good Deeds".  So, she swallowed the lump in her throat, pinned on her best smile and served the Fairy Cakes to her friends, making sure that she offered the best and prettiest to the Curly Fairy.  As she held out the pretty cake, she found herself able to say, "I am so sorry I hurt your feelings, please forgive me." - and it didn't sound quite so growly. At least, the Curly Fairy seemed to have understood what she said.  For a moment her wings drooped again, but she gave herself a shake, smiled at the Little Witch and said bravely, "That's alright. Thank you. This is a pretty cake."

The Little Witch felt a bit better.  She wasn't certain if the Curly Fairy had forgiven her, but she knew that they were both trying to be friends again and that was a good start.  She made sure that she was extra nice to the Curly Fairy, for the rest of the party.  She did her best to do good deeds, serving her guests herself, making sure they were comfortable, smiling at their jokes and helping to organise the games.  Everyone seemed to be having a lovely time, including the Curly Fairy.  Her wings had stopped drooping and even her curls were looking more bouncy.

When everyone was going home, the Little Witch was sad.  What if the Curly Fairy hadn't forgiven her? Maybe she would never come to see her again.  She had Party Presents in a basket under the tree.  She offered one to each person, as they were leaving, saying "Thank you for coming" and smiling at them.  As she offered the basket to the Curly Fairy, she said, "I am so glad you came. I do hope you'll come and play another day.  Here is your present, I hope you like it." 

The Curly Fairy smiled a big and beautiful smile.  "I had a lovely time. Thank you for inviting me and I would love to come again."  And the Little Witch knew she was forgiven.  She saw the Curly Fairy carry away her dirty clothes, without making any comment. All the other witches and fairies seemed to have forgotten about the smelly clothes too.

As she tidied up after the party, the Little Witch thought about the afternoon's events.  She realised that the Curly Fairy was a wonderful and forgiving person.  She also realised that it wasn't only herself who had been thoughtless and unkind; perhaps she did deserve to be forgiven, as she had done her best to make up for her mistake and to make sure everyone - including the Curly Fairy - had a lovely time.   She felt better.  As she made her way to bed, she sang her favourite song and realised that her tummy wasn't rumbling any more.

Bloggers' Crafting Weekend - We Came, We Crafted, We ate Cake...

'Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.'
Dr Seuss

Photos will follow, when I get more organised, but I just wanted to say a huge

Thank You!

to all of you wonderful ladies, who made the weekend so special. I was so delighted to see every one of you, and to meet you and talk to you face to face, after all the time I have been reading your blog posts (a very long time for most of you!).

It was a Good Weekend.  Definitely. We had a great craft room to play in. There was lots to eat (oh, did the YHA feed us well!), especially Cake - we had so much cake!  There was plenty of tea and coffee (which all of you will know is absolutely essential).  We had demonstrations of clever techniques (I made my first ribbon rose today, as demonstrated at The Weekend - a photo will follow!).  We had a fun walk - with craft shops included! 

And, best of all, the Company was The Best. 

I think we should do it again!

Blogger's Crafting Weekend - We Really Are Going!

Yay! It's all organised.  We will be there! Ten Intrepid Crafty Folks are "exploring to" Coalport for the weekend.

If you're coming along, I will be so excited to meet you.

If you can't come, but wanted to (Miss Smith, Fiona, Heather, several others...), I'm hoping to arrange a similar Weekend in 2012 - perhaps toward the start of March.  I think it may be a bit further South, but not sure til I find out what Hostels have the right facilities, with vacancies and at the right price.  I wonder if anyone would like to come and what you think would be "too expensive"?  The cost for this weekend - bed, breakfast and dinner, plus a share of the classroom hire - was £65 for YHA Members, plus an additional £9 for Day Membership of YHA for non-members - so just under £70.  Would £80 be ok, or £90 - some of the City hostels are more expensive than the others?

Anyway... on Friday I will be going out Early and driving North to Coalport, where I hope to meet up with 9 other lovely people.  We will Do Crafting Stuff, go Exploring in Ironbridge, eat Cake (and maybe some other food) and hopefully enjoy ourselves (I do hope everyone enjoys it!).

So, if you're coming to Coalport, I'll See You on Friday!
If you're not, I'll "see" you next week!

* * *

Just an update, by the way, about my mum - as several people were kind enough to leave interested enquiries about her disaster.

The Flood was caused by the cold water pipe that connected to the bathroom wash basin.  It was one of those "flexi" pipes, with a rubber core and a wire-mesh outside.  The rubber inside failed and because it was mains-pressure water, it burst (with a loud "pop" that my mum heard downstairs!).  The water obviously came out very fast, as mains water is pumped, so by the time mum had found someone to help her turn off the water (her hands are not strong enough to turn the tap), everything in the bathroom was flooded and the water was pouring through the ceiling, into the kitchen below.

I spent Wednesday afternoon rescuing things and clearing up the flood, then fielding visits by the warden, plumber and electrician, to make sure she was safe to stay in her home. 

Thursday was the start of the sorting out.  Trying to dry the carpets in the hallway and upstairs landing, which were sopping wet, from water flowing out of the bathroom and kitchen.   Most of Friday was also taken up with this - lifting the carpet upstairs and putting it outside, making phone calls to the insurance people, arranging for the assessor to come on Monday etc. 

Monday was then taken up with visits from the insurance assessor, about the carpets, plus someone to see what damage had been done to the building itself.  Also lots of phone calls and other visitors.  Mum was exhausted, so I ended up doing it all for her - she just doesn't cope with all this hassle now and when she's so tired, nothing sinks in.  She kept trying to tell people stuff that wasn't right, or telling the wrong people, or re-telling things I already dealt with.  It's tricky to keep your temper when you are tired also and someone keeps interrupting you etc.... but I did my best and I think it was sorted out ok. 

We're now waiting for the person from the carpet company, to come and measure up for new carpet.  The Trust who own mum's house will pay for the removal/ re-fitting of the stair lift, so the stair carpet can be removed and replaced - obviously we need to co-ordinate this with the carpet fitter!  They will also re-decorate where there is water damage.  Hopefully, by the middle of December, everything will be dried out and repaired. 

It's been quite a week!

But on Friday I'm going to Coalport!!

What an Afternoon!

Before I begin my long and involved story... A note to those attending the Bloggers' Crafting Weekend at Coalport, next weekend (25th-27th November).
I sent out an update e-mail, to all those who have confirmed they are attending.  If you haven't seen this, please check your "Spam" folders in your e-mail.  If it's not there, shout, as it contains important information and also some questions that I need you to answer asap (like what you want for dinner - I have to tell the hostel tomorrow!)
If you have already sent me an answer, that's fine - thank you. I have a couple of e-mails with outstanding questions, which I aim to answer by the end of the weekend.  I was going to deal with this yesterday but.....

Wednesday 16th November - What an Afternoon!

12:15pm - stop working on the three books I am currently making for my Shop.  It's time for lunch.  Eat chicken and rice (left from last night's tea), then a banana.  Bored with tv and raring to go, so back to work asap.

12:30pm - start work again, punching holes in a pile of pages for a wedding album

12:35pm - phone rings.  Now, I don't usually answer the phone on "working days", as it's too distracting. If it is urgent, people leave a message.  I check for messages from time to time, so I can deal with anything important.  So, I didn't answer.

12:36pm - phone rings.  I was up to my ears in paper punching, so didn't pick it up (but I did wonder).

12:37pm - phone rings again....  Couldn't get to it in time, but this time I thought I really should check...

12:38pm - pick up phone and listen to the three (!) messages:
Message 1) Mother's voice - "Oh dear"
Message 2) Mother again - "There's been a burst pipe and water's pouring through the kitchen ceiling. Bob's here (the warden) and he's turned off the water. I'm going to ring M. (her friend).
Message 3) Mother - "There's water pouring through the ceiling. The kitchen's flooded and I can't make any lunch. Can you help?

Who would refuse? I got in the car.

12:50pm - arrive at Mother's house. The front door is open - not the back door as is usual.  The warden and a neighbour, plus M (the friend) are all there, with my mother.
12:51pm - the nice neighbour goes away
12:52pm - I get into the house - now there's room in the hallway!  There is about 2" water over the kitchen floor, with more trickling through the ceiling.  Everything is getting wet. I start to move stuff out of the kitchen, to minimise damage to anything made of paper or fabric - or electrical (the radio and phone).

12:55pm - the warden stands and watches me work. He waffles... clearly he doesn't really know what to do now. I continue to tidy up.  Mother is upset and keeps wandering in and out - take her and get her settled in her chair.  Her friend is still there and she offers to go home and make a little meal for my mother - she is so kind.  Friend leaves.

1pm - the warden is now a bit more helpful. He explains that the bathroom is also flooded (!).  He asks for the mop and bucket. I say I am going to get it in just a moment, when I have done what I'm currently doing - so he goes and asks my mum to get it (!).  I get him the mop and he starts to help clean up the kitchen. 
He says that he's contacted the office, who are sending the emergency plumber asap.  At least that's been dealt with.

1:05 - 1:30pm - tidying up, aided (mostly!) by the warden.  The plumber arrives and identifies the problem.  The pipework supplying the bathroom wash basin has flexible hose attached - rubber core with a steel mesh outside.  The cold water hose had burst - huge hole in it, big enough for a finger!  He says it must have been faulty.  He disconnects it and isolates the basin pipework, then turns the water back on.  He has spoken to the electrician, who will be here as soon as he can, to check the electrics.

1:30 - 3pm - continue cleaning up and dealing with Mother, who is worn out and upset.  To her credit, she behaves very well, though she still has the idea that she ought to help.  The shock has upset her nerves, which has affected her mobility and she is having problems walking properly.  Persuade her to rest in her chair, eat the nice eggs that her friend cooked her etc. 
Deal with issues like the back-up batteries for her electric reclining chair, which had run out, getting the bathroom floor dry and putting the sodden mats, towels etc in the washing machine (for when the electrics are back on).  Friend has hung the kitchen mat out to dry in the garden. 
Most of the work is drying things - floors, worktops, even inside cupboards, where water has run in from the ceiling. 

2:30pm - the electrician arrives. Poor man has broken his hand and has just been at the hospital to get it checked.  He has to work, as he is self-employed.  He's pretty tough though and gets on with disconnecting the kitchen and hallway lights, then checking the electrics and switching them back on.  He wants to come back in a couple of days, when everything has dried out, to fit new lights.  The electrics are back on and we can start to run the heating, switch on the washing machine, heat water in the kettle... 

3pm - 4pm - Mother finally gets a hot drink.  Finish tidying the kitchen, wash some dishes that were wet with dirty water (from the ceiling - dust I suppose, from between floorboards), take the rinsed washing out of the machine to dry at my house, settle Mother down and make sure she has a meal to heat up for her tea.  Cover the sodden carpets with newspaper.  Call the insurance company to tell them what has happened.  They want us to report back tomorrow, to tell them how the carpets are, as those could be the big problem - if they stay very wet for a while, they will rot and smell.  The building insurance is the responsibility of the Trust who own mum's house - we will check with them tomorrow.

4pm, go home, as DS is back from school.  Mother is settled down and ok.  She doesn't want me to go back this evening - tomorrow am will be fine.

Wednesday evening - usual jobs, make dinner, deal with laundry...  finish the hole-punching for the book I was working on.  Retire early to bed... zzzzz!

So, this morning I am going back to my mum's to deal with wet carpets and any other issues.  I have to go soon, so it's time to stop typing!  

Happy Thursday everyone!

Facebook Sales

I have made my first sales directly through Facebook.  I decided to have a go at this, so set up a Photo Album, with pictures of ready-made books for sale.  I don't think I really publicised it enough - you need to keep flagging things on FB, as everyone's homepage shows lists of all their "Likes" or "Friends" comments and items, which change all the time.

However, I had a request from another crafter, The Pink Fairycake, to make her a Cup Cake Notebook.  I made this:

Cupcake Journal, A4 size, with plain pages and decorated covers. 

The patterned papers wrap round onto the back cover.  It has a wrap-round ribbon fastener, with a vintage button.  There is a decorative pink tassel on the spine.

It has decorative end-papers, to match the cover trims, plus a pink ribbon book-mark, with a yellow tassel.

The customer was very pleased with this - as was I.  I think it turned out really quite nice!

Following on from this, another Facebook person has asked me to make a similar special book, as a gift for her friend, a musician.  She wanted something for her to write lyrics in and liked the cover of this 6" square scrapbook:

She didn't want a square book, but one that was A5 size, like the cupcake book.  It was to have lined pages and her friend likes green. So I came up with this:

Musician's Notebook, with decorative panel on front cover.

The cover is stiff black card, with a wrap-round panel of apple green art paper.  There is a metal button, with wrap-round pale green ribbon to fasten the book.  It has lined pages - it is very difficult to find A4-width lined sheets, so I cannibalised some exercise books. There are just under 150 pages altogether, so I think the owner will be able to write plenty of her lyrics in this book.

The customer says she likes it and I'm just waiting for her payment to go through, so I can trot off to the Post Office again! 

I'm learning how to flag my stuff on Facebook, so I hope my new Photo Album of Christmassy stuff will begin to get a bit of attention - I might make some more sales!