Things That Make Me Happy!

A love-fest of theraggededge's favourite activities, websites, people and places.

A completely self-absorbed page about all the lovely stuff that thrills and inspires me. Join in the gorgeousness by adding your comments below.

Right at the bottom of the page you'll find a list of my other Squidoo lenses where you will find even more deliciousness... there's food, books, tarot, art, people places, 'I hate housework' and even hairy men!

My kids

Three of my own, a gorgeous daughter-in-law and two wonderful steps.

One of my favourite photos

This photo of my scrumptious daughter lifts my heart every time I see it. A great friend used it to create an oil painting and even added a unicorn for a extra magical touch. I love the way that light seems to emanate from her - she glows!

I love Tarot

I have around 50 decks. I have been reading professionally for about 9 years although I don't do so much these days. I love to gaze at cards and simply immerse myself in their exquisiteness. My current (and has been for a long time now) favourite is the Revelations Tarot.

The deck artist/creator Zack Wong, has managed to incorporate a very original take on reversals; the upside down images are very revealing.

Zack Wong's stunning artwork

Revelations Tarot

My favourite tarot decks

My Best Tarot Decks

I've read tarot professionally for a number of years and, like any other self-respecting reader, I am addicted to collecting tarot decks. Also like most other readers I only use one or two favourite decks but the others.... ah well... they called to...

The Beach

Dunraven Bay, Southerndown

We enjoy our trips to the beach. This is our local one. It's not my best beach (that would be Porthpean in Cornwall where my mother took me when I was a kid - remember how the sun used to shine in the summer then?).

Wales

I love Wales!

Although I wasn't born in Wales, I have spent a very long time here and have fallen in love with this quirky little principality. I love the Welsh countryside, the beaches, the people and their matchless sense of humour! I love the food, the sunshine, the rain and the mountains. I love the forests and the footpaths, the traditions and the village I live in. I love that my children have such a rich heritage to tap into - wherever they are in the world.

Tegwen Lewis

Tegwen Lewis was a favourite character in the old mining village of Llanharan. She achieved a high level of fame as a Welsh poet during her lifetime, collecting no fewer than twenty-nine bardic chairs and three crowns. Tegwen sadly died in 1988 but...

St David's Day

St David's Day is the national festival day of Wales It is celebrated on March 1st all over Wales and by ex-pats the world over. It is a little like St Patrick's Day but not quite so green, drunken or rowdy! St David or Dewi Sant, is the patron sai...

Brynna and Llanharan

This is where I live Well, I'm just over the hill....in a manner of speaking. Not so much a town as a pair of small ex-mining villages, sitting between the famous Rhondda Valley and the picturesque Vale of Glamorgan. It's hard to separate the two a...

Traditional Welsh Food

Often when people think of Wales, they are reminded of mountains and Welsh Male Voice Choirs and railway stations with unpronounceable names (yep, I can say Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch). However, it often takes a littl...

Ten Great Things About Growing Up in Cardiff During the 70s

A nostalgic look back at the things that made up my life when I was growing up in Cardiff. Cardiff Trolley Bus Photos by DJ Norton.

Coffee

Mmm... iced-coffee

I love coffee; ground, instant, I don't care. My most favourite way to drink it at the moment is 'cold brewed'. You end up with an extra-strength coffee concentrate that you can keep in the fridge. It has none of the harshness you often get with conventionally brewed coffee. You can add water to it, heat it and make normal coffee; you can use it in recipes and, of course, you can whizz it up with a little syrup, some cream and ice-cubes to make the best, smoothest iced-coffee ever.

Get a great cold brewed coffee method/recipe here: One Particular Kitchen

I love to cook

... but I have to be in the right mood

I enjoy cooking when it's a creative process. I rarely follow recipes without adapting them, adding to them or changing them in some way. My favourite kind of cooking is exploring new flavours in casseroles and slow-cooked meals. I love real, traditional ingredients too... such as butter. How could anyone choose those plastic spreads over the real, melting, golden creaminess of proper butter from proper cows?

I can't bake to save my life though :-(

BLT - The Perfect Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato Sandwich

The BLT - Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich is one of our perennial favourites. Purists would argue that the perfect BLT is just that: bread with perfectly cooked bacon, succulent slices of tomato and crisp lettuce leaves with maybe a hint of mayo....

Butter, the Healthy Option

Real dairy butter gets a bad rap. From the manufacturers of 'plastic' spreads to the proponents of low-fat diets wittering on about the dangers of saturated fat. This lens is a tribute to real butter, how good it is for you and all the lovely ways i...

Traditional Welsh Food

Often when people think of Wales, they are reminded of mountains and Welsh Male Voice Choirs and railway stations with unpronounceable names (yep, I can say Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch). However, it often takes a littl...

Tasty Winter Casseroles

Coming home to the comforting smell of a gently simmering casserole is one of life's greatest pleasures. The combined warmth of the kitchen and the intermingling aromas of tenderly cooked beef (or chicken, lamb or pork) and fragrant vegetab...

My ongoing art journal

I love to play with paint and crayons and collage and pens.... when I get the chance. These are pics of my current project... I decided to prep all the pages with watercolour washes, pastel and collage before using it as a regular journal. At present I am working on the backs, or facing pages, with wash and Zentangle borders.

What's a Zentangle? Click here

curated content from Flickr

Zentangles are here:

Creating Zentangles and listening to music or a radio play is one of the most relaxing and enjoyable ways to spend half an hour or even a whole wet Sunday afternoon. Anyone can do it and you only need a pencil, pen and some paper. Check out my lens on how to start.

Zentangle

What is a Zentangle? In a word, a doodle. A structured, contained doodle. The term 'Zentangle' was invented by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas when, one day, Maria described her experience, as she created her art, as feeling timeless, free and engender...

Great art journals

An art journal is a respository for thoughts, feelings, good drawing, terrible drawing, sticking and gluing, experiments, practice, escapism, gritty reality.... anything in the Universe that inspires you to add something to your journal.

Teesha Moore

Teesha is an original, though many try to copy her work. She has inspired thousands of people around the world to give art journaling a whirl. She demonstrates that there are no holds-barred within this 'play' that is totally personal to the individual.

Traci Bunker's blog

Traci is another inspiring artist. Her work is full of energy.

Sharon Tomlinson's blog

Sharon is an ace at characterful portraits with a twist.

Kelly Rae Roberts

Kelly has published this glorious book.... and I'm going to get it very soon!

Taking Flight:
Inspiration and Techniques to Give Your Creative Spirit Wings - In Taking Flight, you'll find overflowing inspiration--complete with a kindred spirit in author and mixed-media artist Kelly Rae Roberts. Join her on a fearless journey into the heart of creativity as you test your wings and learn to find the sacred in the ordinary, honor your memories, speak your truth and wrap yourself in the arms of community.

Along the way you'll be inspired by:

* Step-by-step techniques--learn the most-loved mixed-media methods of the author and seven talented contributing artists, and combine them in fresh and unexpected ways.
* Thought-provoking prompts and quotes--along with encouraging stories, insights and gentle guidance for finding your bliss, whatever your art or craft.
* Plenty of eye candy--pages and pages of the author's endearing artwork, along with the varied works of the contributors.

Of course, learning to fly isn't entirely a step-by-step process--sooner or later, you just need to take a deep breath and spread your wings. With Taking Flight as your guide, there's no doubt that when you do, your creativity will soar.

Taking Flight:
Inspiration And Techniques To Give Your Creative Spirit Wings

My Art Journal Lenses

My Passion for Art Journals

There is nothing I enjoy more than messing around on my laptop But when I'm not at my computer or looking after my kids or cooking or working or cleaning house then I'll be playing with my glue, watercolors, pastels, pencils and scissors. I love to...

Journal Bliss - Unleash Your Inner Eccentric!

A glorious, inspiring book, full of Violette's vibrant art. I love this book. I love it so much that I am ordering a copy a week to give as Christmas presents - or, more appropriately, New Year presents. Keeping a journal, whether written, sketched,...

I love to write!

I blog, journal, write short stories, articles, Squidoo lenses, reviews... all kinds of writing. Using the right tools is very important to me so I have a collection of various software and resources to help me indulge my urge to write.

Top Ten Writer's Software/Resources

I am a writer of articles, short stories, a WIP novel, various blogs, journals and, of course, a Squidoo Lensmistress hellbent on Giant Squidom! Over the years I have collected several.... well, no, make that quite a lot, software applications gear...

Homeschooling

Or Home-education, autonomous learning, unschooling, whatever you want to call it.

Almost (but not quite) everyday I thank the gods that we chose this path. We educate at home in a completely free and eay way. Allowing the kids to follow their own interests and make their own choices in what they learn. It's all a bit higgledy-piggledy and haphazard but we can see how this organic way of developing will eventually result in two young adults who can think and act independently.

Some days I would love to be able to bundle them off to school but that feeling doesn't last long :-) Actually I'd be happy to bundle myself off to school.

Teach Your Own:
The John Holt Book of Homeschooling

Homeschooling our way

Organic Education

How we spend our time free from curricula and timetables. As parents, my partner and I made an amazing discovery - children actually enjoy learning.... as long as they are interested in what they are doing. A disinterested child cannot and will not...

The Lighter Side of Home Education

Given the recent media attention to the growing movement of home-education in the UK, I thought it might be a good idea to straighten out a few misconceptions. One of them is that we do-it-ourselves parents are all a bit intense and serious. This cou...

My Child is Obsessed with Lego!

I had Lego when I was a kid. All I made was houses. In fact, it was the same house over and over again. I had some basic blocks, a door, a few windows and two base-plates (one for the foundation and one for the roof). I got bored with it pretty quick...

Don't Teach That Child to Read!

Well, stress no more Many of us homeschoolers, who are just beginning the exciting and often scary adventure of teaching our children, understandably become anxious at the prospect of teaching our babies to read, let alone solve simultaneous equatio...

Mr Ragged Edge

I love my man!

Incidentally, I am *not* in that photo!

Hairy Men are Gorgeous!

Hairy Men are Gorgeous! Humans are covered with hair, even the most fair-haired, pixie-like person has body hair unless they are suffering from a medical condition. Androgenic hair (hair that appears post-puberty) is due to the male hormones present...

I love my friends

I just don't like them much the morning after!

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I love magic!

Not the conjuring sort - though that can be pretty cool - the everyday sort. The coincidences, the synchronicities, the many evidences of Law of Attraction and the magic in a child's smile. I love knowing that I can make it happen; enhance it; bring it to me and use it to make my life even better. I love to see magic in nature and in humans as they change and grow and mature. I love to see it in my cats; their magical abilities are clearly in evidence as they always get exactly what they want in the moment.

Photo courtesy of Dawnzy58

Everyday Magic

This is a great little book for adding an element of magic, enchantment and surprise to your daily life. Got a problem? Then you can find a way of dealing with it in this book. You don't need any more complications, right? You want the simple so...

I love reading

especially Terry Pratchett

I think lensmaster, Flynn the Cat, is embarking on a big Terry Pratchett project.

Never Start With The First Discworld Book

Terry Pratchett is a wonderful author, with devoted fans the world over, but at thirty seven books (not counting the Young Adult novels) it can be a daunting series for new readers to jump into. Add to that the diverse array of story threads, an evol...

Unseen Academicals

Unseen Academicals is the latest book from the wonderfully clever Terry Pratchett. I'm not at all sorry to say that this isn't a Rincewind or a Vimes or a De Worde book, although they all feature in it. Not at all sorry - because Unseen Acade...

What makes YOU happy?

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poutine poutine Nov 20, 2009 @ 9:40 am

What makes me happy? So many things....but specially reading and walking.

Poutine

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ChapelHillFiddler ChapelHillFiddler Nov 18, 2009 @ 6:06 am

Very helpful on a dreary day! I love your flicker module, never saw one work so well.

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drifter0658 drifter0658 Nov 11, 2009 @ 7:57 pm

Lenses like this one for sure. The joy of watching the 'AHA!' moment kick in when helping someone.
Smooth skin. Long motorcycle rides to nowhere.

Smell the smoke of a burn-out blessing?

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Tiffany Tiffany Nov 1, 2009 @ 7:00 pm

So sweet! Love this lens. :)

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beruse beruse Oct 26, 2009 @ 7:44 am

The grandchildren of course - had little Jack (11 months old) to stay with me one weekend, great fun. And painting - oh the frustration of it and the joy when it comes right especially portraits and figures. And looking at art. And cooking. And reading your blogs.....

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BevsPaper BevsPaper Oct 25, 2009 @ 4:17 pm

Awesome job on this list of things that make you happy!

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luvmyludwig luvmyludwig Oct 25, 2009 @ 3:07 pm

There are too many things that make me happy to name, but lenses like this are on the list :)

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GrowWear GrowWear Oct 25, 2009 @ 1:31 pm

Children make me happiest. Especially my grandson. Love your journal art!

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Sylvestermouse Sylvestermouse Oct 25, 2009 @ 12:18 pm

Wow! What a excellent lensography! Your children are beautiful! Your artwork is fabulous, but I already knew that:)

What makes me happy? Being with the people I love.

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bethd821 bethd821 Oct 25, 2009 @ 11:44 am

Reading excellence from fellow lensmasters makes me happy. Right now I am ecstatic! What a beautiful lensography. 5*, fav, & lensroll.

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HorseAndPony HorseAndPony Oct 25, 2009 @ 10:49 am

What a great lens. I love enjoying life. My list of things that make me happy is too long. So, I will just say that what ever does not make me happy gets fixed or removed from my life.

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LeanneChesser LeanneChesser Oct 25, 2009 @ 9:47 am

Things that make me happy are personal growth, spirituality, learning, writing, nature, creativity & freedom . . . and lots more! Great lens!

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rms rms Oct 25, 2009 @ 8:52 am

Your photos are outstanding! Very nice work and a great example of what a lensography can be!

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Qualitee Qualitee Oct 13, 2009 @ 4:44 am

Beautiful lens and photographs.

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Jewelsofawe Jewelsofawe Sep 17, 2009 @ 6:20 pm

I love this lens! Makes me happy too. Your art journal is awesome!

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ElizabethJeanAllen ElizabethJeanAllen Sep 13, 2009 @ 2:45 pm

I can't imagine life without family. The coffee, well I never aquired the taste. Now the tarrot cards are interesting. I would love to learn to read them.
Thanks for sharing.
Lizzy

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Hannah Hannah Aug 31, 2009 @ 12:51 am

Babies. Animal or human. and Rain. Also music especially something lovely or cheerful.
good heartfelt friendships.
And long deep conversations.
people who aren't afraid to be themselves.
People who have the courage to say anything.
Green landscapes and big tall trees.
The feeling of the earth under your bare feet.
The laugh of someone you love.
The feeling of being loved.

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CreativeArtist CreativeArtist Aug 27, 2009 @ 12:14 pm

I like doing what feels best in the moment, along with some discretion thrown in!

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Arun Arun Aug 26, 2009 @ 12:44 pm

Nice Write ups !! keep it up.

Cheers!!
--
Regards
Arun

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theraggededge theraggededge Aug 22, 2009 @ 3:42 pm | in reply to amberiow

Yes, and if there's Clementine chicken to be had, so much the better!
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