November 24 - November 30, 2013

This year, November was a month of celebration, and of sadness. 
 I have always found November a mercurial month; a poignant month - with balmy days, frosty morns, blustery winds, driving snow. Barbara Frum wrote about her garden in "In a Canadian Garden", published way back in 1989. There is something special about November light and she stirred me with this..."My main goal is a landscape that's beautiful in all seasons, in the rain, under snow, in the sodden mists of March and in the sweet, sad, lavender light of late November.
Here's another week's full.

This is Anne Boleyn of the 6 fingers. In some portraits they show 6 fingers on one hand and in others it's the normal 5. I think her hat would be perfect for those bad hair days. Not that I have any of those of course.

The brooch back broke so I covered cardboard with wool, glued it in place and now the brooch is useable once again. Next year it will join my Valentine brooches.

Quite a while back, at the One of a Kind Show in Toronto, I was deciding what colour of cat I wanted on the brooch; I turned around to pay and there was Sue, an old high school friend. She had made it, and it is such a Sue thing to make. Don't you like chance encounters - serendipity. And I oh so like this cat pin.

A present from my siblings and siblings-in-law for a special birthday - a lovely Limonges china brooch from France. Ah, young love.

Scottish people seem to be generous people. This brooch had come over with one of my Docs from Scotland, and since it's a spray of Heather with thistles she gave it to me. Isn't it a beautiful brooch. Once (30 years ago), I snuck some Heather from the Scottish moors pressed into a book into Canada. It passed through security in secrecy, but my agile kitty Pirbright was able to do a vertical jump of Olympian heights to get it from a wee ledge. After a good mauling I was able to retrieve a spray and still have it to this day. 

I saved a few of my very favourite brooches for the end of this blog. This one ranks in the top ten. Bought it in London England at the fab Horses Hospital "antique" building where each booth was actually the original horse's stall. Don't know who the artist is who created this brooch. I paid a measly 2 pound 50. A steal.

This brooch resides always on a blue jean jacket. You can't miss this one, and many people have commented on it. It elicits ohhh, nice, I like your brooch. And so do I. It's tres fab.