As the blood runs red down the needle and thread

when each thought is a heart needle,

colours and little squirrels are cheering.

I got an A in one of my counseling response papers! It was a goal of mine for the course; to get just one, since they said to never expect one, stranegly enough. And today we picked up 1,000 of my postcards. Postcards made from my very own drawings! It's so cool to think about. Now I won't get killed at the Christmas market. I've also found cute boxes on sale, which my paints and things will fit in. Decorative storage boxes are incredibly expensive back home in the Middle East.

What's on your mind these days? And what is the weather like where you are?

Really; it's not a mundane question to me.

love, cait

p.s. title credit goes to Death Cab. they put the words in my mouth.

red, orange, and green

so we're in America.

and I have new stockings.

i took a walk in the woods behind my uncle's house and found a playground.

a cat stopped for a momentbut the rustling leaves scared him.

this leaf fell right before my eyes and the wind carried it a bit further.

fiery

it rained today, but the sun looks lovely through the changing trees.

i hope you all are having a lovely weekend. i'm cold, and miss my paints, and was stressed all day yesterday getting a counseling case study project in, but today we went to a music store and bought some amazing sheet music. les miserables, josh groban, and pride and prejudice.

love, cait

craving fall - we're off today!

this is an open Autumn tag from Joyfully Home.
Since I'm definitely thinking of fall these days, I decided to do it!

1.) Favorite Smell... Smoke from fireplaces, the breeze, and pumpkin spices.

2) Favorite Food... Everything with savoury delicious spices, especially containing pumpkin or chocolate.

3.) Favorite color...Red - but that's all year round! Maybe all the lovely dark, earthy, rich tones you see.

4.) Favorite drink... Pumpkin spice lattes, maple sugar lattes, spicy hot chocolate, and always - Wassail!

5.) Favorite Treat... Chocolate pumpkin cake! I really want to make some right now.

6.) Favorite place to visit... America! Real beautiful autumn weather.

7.) Favorite Candy... Chocolate all year round!

8.) Favorite movie to watch... I've never seen real fall movies! I'd probably associate old classics with it though, or something like Babette's feast, which I love. Have you seen it?

9.) Favorite clothing to wear... Tights and skirts! Yay! I can't wait to get my Sock Dreams order.

10.) Favorite Outdoor Activity... Playing tag when it's cold enough for your nose to get chilly. (I have to go with Jasmine's answer there)

11.) Favorite Football Team... I never follow it!

12.) Favorite Fall Holiday... Thanksgiving! We've never really 'done' Hallowe'en, but I like the idea of an All Souls Night.

13.) Favorite Haunted Place (haunted as in frequently visited)... Outside with falling leaves, walking. Or cozy inside with family. Oh, I'm getting excited for America!

14.) Favorite Food at Thanksgiving Dinner... Rolls! Definitely the bread. Also gravy...and green bean casserole with crisp onions.

15.) Favorite Pie... Pumpkin for sure, and chocolate.

16.) Favorite Fall Hobby... Cooking, baking, dancing, walking, being with friends and family, reading!

17.) Favorite Fall Memory... All the times we've had Thanksgiving with family! And we used to go to Cider Mills or apple orchards when we lived in America...and all the bonfires and hayrides. Such fun!

18.) Favorite Fall Sight... Colours, colours, colours. And little rosy cheeked children running around in boots and scarves.

19.) Overall Favorite Fall Thing... The weather, the colours, the family, the inside warmth, the food. Of course.

20.) Favorite Season... In America; fall or spring, and home in Dubai, winter - you can actually go outside without getting too hot!

What are your favourite aspects of Autumn?

love, cait.

the world is quiet here

Somewhere in a hidden memory
Images float before my eyes
Of fragrant nights of straw and of bonfires
And dancing till the next sunrise.

Figures of cornstalks bend in the shadows
Held up tall as the flames leap high
The green knight holds the holly bush
To mark where the old year passes by.

Standing on the bridge that crosses
The river that goes out to the sea
The wind is full of a thousand voices
They pass by the bridge and me.

I can see the lights in the distance
Trembling in the dark cloak of night
Candles and lanterns are dancing, dancing
A waltz on All Souls Night.

do you think of fanciful parties as an exciting, peopled affair? or maybe a time you set aside for yourself. both? either? I think so. It would be silly to limit ourselves to one use of a word with such lovely connotations.

well, today is the Halloween party!
I think we should have a mixture of both.

our family never celebrated All Soul's Night. I remember peeking out through the curtains with my little sister to see the passing costumed fairies and screamers and princesses.
now in Dubai we leave as the sun sets and the children come out, to a friend's house, where we have donuts and apples off strings and guess who people are impersonating. All Saints' Day celebration.

oh how I miss pumpkins! I want to make pies and bread and cookies, and drink pumpkin spice lattes and maple chocolate. fresh crisp air and red and orange leaves would be nice too. only a few more days!

Alice in Wonderland is someone I have always thought would enjoy All Hallow's Eve immensely, don't you think? Just think; I'll see her in a few weeks at Disney.

now, let's make wassail. or hot chocolate?

Halloween also reminds me of the Snark.

" 'But oh, beamish nephew, beware of the day,
If your Snark be a Boojum! For then
You will softly and suddenly vanish away,
And never be met with again!'

for the snark was a boojum, you see.

"In a moment (of this I am sure),
I shall softly and suddenly vanish away--
And the notion I cannot endure!"

- Lewis Carroll

Happy All Saints' Day - quite early!

and now it is time to say:

Slan go Foill Cara na
Mhuintir Buiochas diobh go leir.
Is e sin oiche na taibhse;
Failte roimhe i mo ti an oiche seo.

love, cait


all photos from google.

tea party.

do join me.

milk and sugar? i only use milk in black tea.

the sky is actually clear today and the sun shines without being filtered by smog.

chocolate tarts for our guests! i am so pleased with how they turned out.

we leave on Wednesday! there is so much to do.

love, cait

a mushroom family and another pink clouded circus

i wonder what each toadstool's story is. do you know?

an old sketch stuck to my mirror. i am fond of it.

love,
cait

yet another embarkation.

We will soon be leaving for America again (October 22nd to November 11th, to be precise). This time a trip of the family variety, with my dad traveling with us and the purpose of visiting cousins on his side that we never see.
We will also be paying a visit to Disneyworld!, which we have never been to! I think I'm more excited than my little siblings. I would so love to get a job as Snow White there someday. One can dream...
This means I should probably take Dahlia Oz, though I had been planning to leave Blythe home, due to the poor girl being packed all over the globe this summer already. What do you think? I'm sure she'd love having her photo taken with Cinderella, or in front of the Disney castle modeled after the original castle she posed by in Germany.

So, when people ask what I'm looking forward to for our cheery fall visit, after of course mentioning seeing family, I say Disney, and new socks!! Because I've just placed my first order from SockDreams, and am currently obsessed with pretty tights and socks with my skirts.

Well, I hope you all have a delightful day. I leave you with this gypsy corner of the mirror above my desk. The feathers are far too tantalizing for the mischievous Sunny, but she will just have to learn.

love, cait

green backed ironwork

I call these my monkeybabies. I found them in a tiny streetside shop in Rothenburg, Germany. They were so darling and cuddly that I went back to that shop several times that day trying to decide which to get, and eventually ended up being able to get two since the man was very sweet and gave me a huge discount since I kept coming back, so the little one was practically free. They are rather old but the tags didn't say what year they're from. Another for sale was from the 1970's. Perhaps they're weird but I fell in love.

Now, a new little piece. I used bits of an old weathered Romeo and Juliet book for the paper, and really like how it looks.

- a slightly eerie but happy victorian day. -

it photographed rather blurrily unfortunately.
what are you up to this week?
love,
Cait

P.S. don't forget the A Fanciful Twist party :) here's the real banner.

twist of fancy

I thought I'd share a glimpse of my favourite blog, which you may have already come across, because she is marvelous. A fairy, I'm almost quite sure.
A Fanciful Twist.

She takes divinely coloured pictures and paints scenes with words. It's always a treat to see the little efin beings, art dolls, sketches, and other bits of whimsy that she comes up with.
Very tragically typepad is blocked in the u.a.e. for some reason, so I'm rarely able to read or comment on her blog. She's given me some lovely crafting advice by email though.

You can shop for Vanessa's creations on etsy.


Once I finish my school work (while the rest of the middle east is on eid holiday!) this weekend holds Oasis, a sleepover, and perhaps friends and visiting after church. Maybe we can journey to the thrift store on Saturday?Meanwhile I'll keep working on my little crafty pieces. A family of clay mushrooms is drying and waiting to be painted.

Oh, I almost forgot. Vanessa is hosting a little blogling Halloween party affair, and I think I shall join. Next time I can sneakily get past the blockades to her blog, I'll get the banner for it. This just means there will be surprises on Halloween and anyone can join! Take a look at her invitation.

What are you up to this weekend?

love, cait


photos by a fanciful twist.