January 27 - February 2, 2013

 Yikers! A month til Spring and I'm still nattering about brooches in January.
Will I ever catch up? Have faith dear friends. Apologize now, the spacing is wonky for this week's entry and je ne sais pas why!

I like terriers - the straight furry legs and lantern mugs. Although my town has dogs galore of myriad shapes, sizes and temperaments, I have yet to see one of these. I like the depiction of the dog, although the brooch pin back is a bit overlong - A-OK at the front of the dog, but a bit questionable at the "rear".

We have three cats - Violet, Moggy and Purdy - named for 3 people that we love. These cats look very relaxed in comparison to the feline shenanigans that go on in our home. 

I LOVE SQUIRRELS! Boo to all those who call them rats with furry tails. A friend of mine calls me the squirrel whisperer as I've saved a few of them from a nasty end. Squirrel Story: I found a squirrel stuck head down inside my  small metal suet feeder. He must have tried to get that last morsel of bird suet. He was a young'un so half of him was in, half out. He was in distress, his tail was flailing and he was scared. I got the garden shears, held the feeder in my hand and started talking to him to calm him down and with a neighbour friend keeping me company slowly cut the metal grid that was pressing along his body and face. When he was freed and dropped to the ground he looked up in relief at us, and then off      

                                                                                 he went. Happy ending. Happy brooch.

Love the colour of amber and a square cut.   

 A bit battered as it spent a few years on a gardening coat. It's mainly wood. I like the jauntiness of the train. 

Such a pretty heart. The tatted piece in the middle was handmade and then attached to the backing. The artist (whose name I can't recall - Andrea?) was a member of the same art group I'm still in and I liked to watch her flying fingers as she tatted away. I love the different textures that she used. It took me quite a while to decide which one to buy. I regret not buying another one. 

I think I bought this one summer when I worked at the Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta. It was a present for my Mom and she gamely wore it but it wasn't her style. I recently found it in a box with a few other of my Mom's trinkets. I like it immensely and was thrilled to find it again. The photo doesn't do it justice - the greens, the metallic sheen - but the design rings true. Again, one of those wonderful enamelled brooches.