A little bit of this.... and a little bit of that ..... latest ColdhamCuddlies update

Hello everyone - I'm giving Cy Bear a rest, so he doesn't think he's going to take over the blog duties for good!  But really there's been so much happening in my world that is very exciting, as well as time-consuming, and I felt I should share it with you myself. 

February 10 is the fifth anniversary of the ColdhamCuddlies registration on Etsy.com - which amazes me, I have to say.  That was the date we officially signed up:  but as there was no stock in the shop, it didn't begin functioning until September, by which time we had about 10 different toys on offer - mainly Teddy Bears and the Dressed Rabbits (Ladies and Gents).  Prior to the Craft Fair at the beginning of December we had over 70 different Toys, but what with Craft Fairs and more recently a steady supply of orders we are now down to the mid-60's.  So, there's a replacement schedule that needs to be put in place - and I've got some lovely patterns for some new Cuddlies to join the Family!

 

Meanwhile, Cy Bear did tell you about the impending departure of two of our Baby Koalas, dispatched to join the Sleepy Koala that went to live in Torquay, Devon, UK a week or two ago.  Before they left, he insisted on supervising their departure - as is his wont - and here's the picture to prove it!

 

We have not heard if they did arrive, and I've been so busy with other things, that I've not yet checked.  Am pretty sure, given the speed at which we were contacted when Sleepy Koala arrived at his Forever Home, that had they not reached their destination, we would have been contacted.

Think they were pretty pleased to be travelling together, anyway.

The rest of the week has been spent cutting out, and sewing the second batch of Puppet Bodies for dispatch to Mr.JS of Tulsa, Okalahoma, as well as finishing the three pairs of felt hands that he required for some other members of his Puppet Theatre.

This time around, three more white fleece bodies - all lined with calico fabric - and a baby blue fleece body were needed.  (It was a black body and three further white ones that were dispatched at the beginning of January - and I was pleased to learn they finally arrived in Tulsa at the beginning of this week).  So the dispatch experiment that was discussed a couple of posts ago here didn't work - the parcel took as long to reach Tulsa this time around as did Grandpere, and this time around there wasn't  the excuse of the Christmas rush.  Before posting this second batch of bodies, am going consult with Royal Mail as to how I can ensure the package taking less time when the Buyer is paying for a faster delivery.  I don't think it would have gone much slower had I sent it by ordinary International Standard Airmail Parcel delivery - and would not have been as expensive for MrJS.

These are the three pairs of hands - and I've got so much felt left over from the two sheets I used, that I'm actually in the process of making three more pairs:  just in case they are needed when MrJS comes to sew them onto the puppets at the other end. (The felt was provided by MrJS - and is a much better flesh colour than anything I could source on this side of the Atlantic)  It's rather a long way for him to get replacements should they be needed fast!  The fingers have all been machined:  I just need to button hole stitch around the edges, and that can be done tomorrow evening, once I've cut out our next project - two versions of our Hairy Teddy Bears, one of which will be headed to Missouri in the next couple of weeks.

I'm off for a few days to stay with daughter, Philippa, in High Wycome at the end of the week.  At least one of the Hairy Bears will be accompanying me so I can keep my fingers from getting stiff - although I have to say, that even with the intense cold weather we are having at the moment, the arthritis does seem to be reasonably passive at the moment.  Long may that situation continue - it does make life easier.

Now before closing just some interesting statistics - at least they are for me!  I've told you about how many toys are now available in our shop at www.Etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES:  this blog - started in March 2011, has now had 30,654 page views, over 287 posts (not counting this one).  That's really amazing considering the content is little more than descriptions of our Toys, and the patients in our Stuffed Animal Restoration Clinic - which might be getting a new patient shortly:  if it happens, this will be the first since I moved up from Heytesbury, Wiltshire, where I think all the Village Bears needing treatment had been welcomed at one time or another!!

 An unexpected enquiry, which reached me last week-end via the Royal Mail Redirection service came from a lady in Buckinghamshire - who had read about my Clinic when I'd written to The Lady Magazine about our services (just about a year ago).  Coincidentally, the Royal Mail had written to remind me the same day that my redirection arrangement was due to end on February 11 (which means we've been up in Nottinghamshire for 6 months from that date - my word the time flies).  Needless to say, I've extended my re-direction arrangements for another six months - just in case there are more letters looking for me, although I have to say, there are not that many now.  Most folk who are in regular contact now know where I now live.

Some further stats - which thrill me, I have to say, because being a gypsy at heart, it really gives me a charge  to think about where my blog is being read.  About nine months after I began posting regularly, early in 2012, I found a site called Flag Counter - you can see it on the right side of this post - and since joining, there have been 7,331 page views, of which 3,019 (or 61.7%) are based in the United States.  84 different flags have been collected - from countries as widely dispersed as the Philipines, Turkey,  Brazil, Russia, as well as the United Kingdom (which account for 15.5%) and many of the other countries of the English speaking world, such as Australia and Canada.  Cy Bear and I are most grateful for your support - we like to think of our posts being treated as bedtime reading - and look forward to continuing and building on this amazing collection of friends.

Think I have waffled on long enough for tonight - must get ready to complete the other hands and then pack them up for posting to Tulsa on Tuesday morning. 

Awaiting the three other pairs of hands

Until next week - do hope everyone continues to keep well and that weather conditions - where ever you are based in the world - are not being overly out of kilter from the norm!  It is February  - and my late Mother always said the worst months of the British winter for her were either November or February.  Don't think she was really that far out!

All the best - and thanks again for all your support.  Isobel

 

 

One thing that led to another ... and another ....

Good afternoon, Folks!  Cy Bear back again for another session with you all - cannot believe how long it is since Isobel interrupted our getting-together here on our blog!  Long may it continue.

 

Seem to recall that at the end of last week's post, I said we'd introduced another new Cuddly to the COLDHAMCUDDLIES family and that I'd tell you all about him when we next met.  So - here is his story - or rather, to begin with, the story of both our new Sleepy Koala Bears.

 

To make these little fellows, Isobel used the template she made when she originally treated Little Brown Ted - a small bear that had lived in a toybox kept by Alan's mother, when Alan himself was at an age to play with stuffed toys.  By the time we'd been introduced, he was a Patient in our Stuffed Animal Restoration Clinic, and after creating a template using his plush pieces, we ended up with Little Sleepy Ted, a Yellow Plush Teddy Bear.

MsHG contacted Isobel on Christmas Eve last year to ask if it would be possible for us to make a Sleepy Koala based on the same template pattern, so these two chaps are the result.  We took photographs of both of them, and sent them to MsHG for her to decide which she'd like to provide a Forever Home to, and she asked for Sleepy Koala on the right - and asked that the left-hand Koala be given an extra hug, because she felt guilty at not taking them both!

So, Right Hand Koala was wrapped up and readied for his trip to Torquay, Devon, England, UK - but not before there was our usual farewell ceremony.

Also, before the departing Sleepy Koala was wrapped up, Isobel took some photos of them together so that the remaining one could be listed in our Shop (www.ColdhamCuddlies.Etsy.com). 

 

Because they don't sit up terribly well - unless propped up with pillows (they're not called "Sleepy" for nothing, after all),  we took them propping each other up, and then one showing their rears:

Then, we took a side view of the remaining Sleepy Koala, seen below:

One of him facing the camera, full on

and, finally, one of him with a facial close-up:

Then on Wednesday morning Isobel took him to our local Post Office, where she walks every day - if possible - to get her daily newspaper, and posted him to MsHG.

 By mid-afternoon on the Thursday, we received a convo message from her to say that Sleepy Koala had arrived safely, she sent a picture of him in his new Forever Home and posted it on our Coldham Cuddlies Facebook page and then, in the early evening, Isobel received a telephone call from her.  She was so pleased with Sleepy (which is what she's is going to call him) that she asked if the Baby Koalas we already have in our Shop
https://www.etsy.com/listing/55190188/toy-koala-tree-bear-grey-fleck-and-white? were made with the same fabric as Sleepy.

Having confirmed that indeed they were, Isobel offered MsHG the chance to choose which of the three Baby Koalas remaining in the Shop she would like - we originally had four listed, but one was sold during the Christmas Bazaar in the Kirkby Festival Hall at the beginning of December 2014.  She chose and convo'd Isobel telling her which one she wanted.  But, when Isobel went to get him from his snug, she found that we'd got one of our original Brown Koala's still looking for a Forever Home.

On the off chance that MsHG might like him better, she sent a picture of Brown Baby Koala, together with the one she had chosen (just confirming we'd got the right one).  Well, blow me down, on Saturday afternoon, MsHG came back with the request that she'd like both of them:  she thought they both looked as though they were the best of pals, and she hadn't the heart to separate them - as well as the two Sleepy Koalas.  So, on Monday, we will be posting the two Baby Koalas so they can join Sleepy Koala.  With luck, their journey will end with a great reunion sometime next Tuesday.  (Brown Koala is the last of his line - because Isobel wants to keep the remaining Light Brown Faux Fur so she can make more Big Teddy Bears.   We have a much bigger stash of the Grey/White Faux Fur fabric now.)

So, although there's plenty more to tell - and show - you I'll close this post for now.  See you all soon, because there are some more exciting possibilities on the horizon.  It's all happening here at the moment!

Your friend Cy Bear

 

   

We have a Black and White Cat Puppet to tell you about!

Hello Everyone!  Cy Bear once more signing in, a little later than usual.  But what with Isobel developing bronchitis and then the computer browser having a hissy fit on Sunday - when we normally try to post - there has been no option but to delay this until today.  Still, better late than never! So, where to start?  Perhaps with a reference to the last item in our previous post - the fact that Isobel was having difficulty fitting the newly made Black and White Cat Head (BWC) to the previously made Dry Run Puppet Body.  As it happened, when she sat down and concentrated - after the antibiotics had begun to wreak their miraculous effect, it was quite easy in the end, and we now have a new member of the Coldham Cuddlies family, - the Black and White Plush/Fleece Arm Puppet.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/218473996

The actual puppet body production has been described in earlier posts, so I'm not going to go into too much detail here.  However, making BWC involved making a slightly bigger template for this fellow's head than Isobel originally used for our Ginger Plush Sitting Cat 

Isobel now has this bigger head template in a separate envelope, and it will be added to the animal head collection we are amassing for future puppet and golf club covers - both of which need a similar sized head.  So, having attached BWC's head to  the Puppet Body, we then took some photographs from different angles, and he has been listed in our Shop (https://www.Etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES).

Carefully propped up against a pillow, this shows  BWC at full length - 18 inches (40.6 cms) from neck to base of body.  This bit can be varied, of course, depending on the length of the operator's arm - which is why our Arm Puppets are tagged as being "made to measure".  If any interested party wants a Cat, Tiger or any other Animal from the Coldham Cuddlies Collection, they just have to let Isobel know these vital statistics, and 3-4 weeks after receipt of the information, their individual Puppet will be on its way to them!   (The likelihood is that delivery will actually be earlier than that 3-4 weeks, but Isobel likes to give herself a little leeway, in case she has a lot of other requests for her sewing attention at the time an order is received.  She does not like delivering anything LATE!)

This shows the decoration around the neck which Isobel embroidered by using white embroidery thread and chain stitch.  It just lifts the puppet body a little - and obviously, this too, can be individualised in any future Puppet request.  (It has the added effect of creating a tube around the neck - enabling a draw string (or elastic) to be inserted if that should be requested).

It looks like BWC is trying to climb the pillows, doesn't it?  He's is actually very gingerly balanced on the edge of the Body's base, but we hope it conveys what he looks like from the rear. Finally, Isobel was delighted to discover that she doesn't have to rely on just her gentlemen neighbours here at Old Chapel Close, where we now reside when it comes to "borrowing" a hand to operate our Puppets.  Our usual "model" was unavailable when this was taken, but when Isobel visited the Resident's Lounge to see if she could find a  model for this picture, we found that there are at least three ladies blessed with large hand spans, who were only too pleased to assist.

Even though the photography session interrupted a hand of cards - actual game not known - we are very grateful to our fellow residents for the interest they exhibit in every Cuddly that is produced in our Flat here, and for the way they are always willing to help in any way they can.  They make terrific "critics" when opinions are required, as well. The bronchitis Isobel has been suffering from seems to be well on it's way to being non-existent, but despite it's effects, we've been able to keep up the toy-production schedule.  Yesterday, saw the two Sleepy Koala Bears finished.  They were speedily photographed together and exhibited as a mini-catwalk show to MsHG, their Adopter from Torquay in Devon, England, UK.  She indicated which one she wanted  today - and the selected Bear will be on its way tomorrow - just a day later than intended.  MsHG had begged Isobel not to worry if she was a day or so late in delivery - because she, too, had been the victim of one of the vicious bugs that seem to be going round the UK at the moment, and did not expect her Sleepy Bear to be delivered on time, under the circumstances. I'll tell you all about these fellows next time I post - as well as sharing some rather interesting statistics (not many, I hasten to add!) about this blog and it's progress since we began publishing it four years ago in March.  Also, I'm told, that February this year sees the Fifth Anniversary of the arrival of COLDHAMCUDDLIES on the Etsy.com scene, so I do think it's appropriate that some mention is made of these two facts. Until the next time, then.  Hope everyone is keeping well - and looking forward to being with you again soon.   Your friend, Cy Bear.

Puppet Bodies are Tulsa Bound - plus news from the Coldham Front

Good afternoon once again Friends! Cy Bear back with you for this week's installment.   As Isobel is somewhat under the weather today - she's suffering from a bug that she's just described as "back to front" and isn't enjoying the experience - this post will be quite a lot shorter than of late, but we are determined to keep up our New Year's resolution to post at least once a week throughout 2015. 
 (By that I gather she means that the Post Nasal Drip with which she lives 24/7 decided to descend to her chest mid-week, so the Pharmacy was prevailed upon to provide a Chesty Cough Mixture to loosen it up.  That it did, but the whole caboodle now seems to have lodged on her chest and she seems to be developing a head cold which is not part of the normal pattern! So, it seems to me that  a visit to the GP Surgery is on the cards for as early as she can get an appointment on Monday morning!).

There are 4 Bodies here, but one White One isn't showing!

Thus, as the title implies, the first batch of Smith Puppet Bodies were posted on Friday - and Isobel is testing a theory. 
 In the past, when we've posted Cuddlies to their Adopted Homes in the  United States (or elsewhere for that matter, but particularly the United States) on a Friday they have tended to get to their destinations within the allotted time quoted by UK Royal Mail.  We offer our Buyers the option of using the quoted service (International Airmail Signed For - which is the most expensive journey on offer) or the customer can opt to go with the "normal" International Standard Airmail Package route, which is cheaper, but takes for ever to reach where it's headed.  The former is supposed to take only 5 Working Days from date of posting.  Recently, admittedly with Christmas postal services in chaos internationally, that has not been the case - Grandpere Tiger, as you may recall took 22 days, which is not much shorter than it would have been had he just gone Ordinary International Airmail.

So, as both the Tiger Puppets sent to JS in Tulsa were posted at the beginning of the week they left the UK, Isobel decided to try sending these Puppet Bodies on Friday of last week.  There is always a get out clause for the UK Postal Authorities.  Because provided the package reaches territory in the USA within the 5 Working Days, they then cannot track the package any further - so their part of the transaction has been fulfilled.  So, it is then dependent on US Post to take up the cudgel on our behalf, and of course they could say the contract was not with them!!!   On the other hand, a Baby Koala that was headed for Hong Kong who left us when we were in Heytesbury, Wiltshire on a Friday, was at his new Home by Monday afternoon the next week!  So it can, and does work! However, when Isobel, Peter and Girls lived in Canada they always told folks in the UK to try to send packages to them in Alberta (way over on the west side of Canada) on either a Thursday, Friday or Saturday - because usually there are more aeroplanes headed towards the American Continent at a week-end (whether just cargo or passenger) and therefore more chance of our parcels getting to where they've been addressed quicker.  Now, admittedly, that was way back in the 1980's and technological "improvements" in postal services have been introduced which are supposed to be better than ever for their customers.  We'll see, and I'll let you know how things pan out with the Puppet Bodies.

I do promise you that this Black version of the Smith Puppet Bodies is a new one, because as you can see it has matching black drawstring at the neck, where the one we showed you in last week's post - the one with Alan's arm in it, has a white one.

This latter Body is currently waiting to be attached to a Black and White Cat Head which has been completed as a Dry Run for a future Smith Puppet.  It's not ready for display, as one of the ears is definitely wonky, and Isobel has yet to figure out how to fit the head to the neck of the body!  She's waiting till she's feeling capable of the battle.  So far, the attempts have not been impressive!
Meanwhile, a pair of Grey Rabbit Head Slippers will be ready by close of play today to be sent to Huron, South Dakota first thing Monday morning (January 12).  It's a week later than planned, but still within the published "ready for dispatch" date requested by Etsy.com on their sales sites.
So, until next week, I'll let Isobel go off and huddle in her armchair - and finish the second Rabbit Head. Till next time - hopefully with everyone firing on all cylinders.
Your Friend, Cy Bear.

Old Friends Renewed - and the latest from the COLDHAMCUDDLIES world.

Hello Everyone!
Happy New Year to all our Followers!  This is Cy Bear signing in for my first post for 2015!

Newly relisted Baby Kolas sending New Year greetings too!

Well, the snow has all gone - but not before it apparently caused a lot of problems in and around the grounds of where we Cuddlies now reside and the surrounding streets.  Being a public holiday (what ever that is) no gritting crews came out to put de-frosting stuff on the roads, and as a result lot of people slipped around and some hurt themselves.  Isobel was firmly told NOT to walk to get her daily paper, once the shops opened after the Christmas holiday, and it was delivered to her by Alan and Dotty, who took their early morning walk in a direction which made it feasible for them to pick the paper up en route homewards.  

Theoretically that should have given Isobel a bit more time to do more things, but somehow it seems that she finds ever more things that need to be done, with even less time to achieve them.  She gives the impression of chasing her tail - if she had one, that is.  Having seen Dotty do that sometimes, I think it's a very good illustration of how Isobel can behave sometimes!  I observe these actions from my perch on her very comfortable bed, where I am allowed to sit for the day time hours.
Anyway, some news on the Smith Puppet front.  To everyone's astonishment, in the first postal delivery after Christmas, the felt and pattern for the Hands that Isobel has been asked to make arrived from Tulsa, USA.  They were only posted on Christmas Eve - so for the second time in our relationship with the Tulsa based Puppet emporium, it would appear that it is faster for them to post stuff to us than it is for us to service them!  
The dry run for Puppet Bodies - using some of the recently acquired Black Fleece fabric was successfully accomplished last week-end.  

The reason that this will only be a dry-run is that Isobel is not satisfied with the thickness of the black fleece.  It is not as fluffy as will the White bodies be, and as there is also a need for experimentation on a Cat Head down the road, it was mutually agreed between JS  and Isobel that she would use the black fleece now so she can see how the bodies will work.  The experimental body will not be wasted, as once the Cat Head is made, it will be attached to this body and become a new Cuddly in our Etsy Shop - https://www,Etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES.  (The thicker black fleece, together with further supplies of the white fleece needed for the other three white Puppet bodies and one Blue Body, have been ordered, and we hope will arrive fairly early this coming week. The factory from which we get the material are normally very fast suppliers, but they only open for business after the Christmas season on Monday, January 5.)
The Tulsa White Puppet Bodies (outer skins and linings) are ready to be sewn together, following the pattern established here, and once the new Black fleece materials has arrived, the black outer skin will be cut out and sewn (the lining is already made).  This is what the finished dry-run puppet body looks like - with Alan's  hand and  arm in  the operating position.

The Tulsa puppets' heads are ceramic ones and the idea of the drawstring at the neck is that the bodies will fit around the necks of the ceramic models and they can then be operated by the Puppeteer.  
The dry run Cat Head on the other hand is going to be sewn on to this body's neck - and at the moment Isobel is working at creating a neck - using the patterns she used for the two Harry Ginger Sitting Cats we wrote about in a recent post.  The head bit is looking quite promising: but it is currently looking a bit weird because of the missing neck!  Isobel has created a template, and hopes to work with it later today, or tomorrow.  She's hoping it will look something like Harry here - but in black and white plush.

During correspondence this week Isobel requested permission to use the puppet body pattern being used at the moment for all future Coldham Cuddlies puppets - both hand and arm versions.  It looks so much more comfortable to operate in this format than the current and former Puppets.  I'm pleased to tell you that JS has agreed,  so henceforth my Puppet friends will have their arms/hands in this position, rather than as they are now.  They are perfectly workable in their current format, but these just look a lot more professional - and comfortable to manipulate too.
In between all this sewing, there have been a lot of renewals and relisting going on in the Shop, and I'm expecting to be telling you all about these in a day or so's time.  Meanwhile, I'll end this post for now and hope that everyone had a really great Festive Season and that you are all ready for what 2015 will bring us all.
Good Night and God Bless!  Your friend.  Cy Bear.

Christmas Update - and Preliminary Plans for 2015

                                              






Greetings Everyone!  
Well, Christmas has passed - very quickly, as is it's wont. 
The celebrations were wonderful, with both daughters together, and Alan as well.  Dotty, the Dog 

Getting to know Pingou, the Penguin

and two cats - Mo and Alfie -

Not sure what Alfie was expecting:  Mo, an elderly puss,  did not grace us with her presence at this time

enjoyed themselves too, and the snow held off until Boxing Day, at which point here in the East Midlands (we are on the edge of the Peak  District, which as it's name implies is quite high by UK standards, anyway) six inches of the white stuff were dumped on us overnight. 

 We woke up on Saturday morning, with a blanket of snow (which meant it took me 30 minutes to get my daily paper, instead of the more normal 15-20 - depending if I meet folks en route with whom to pass the time of day!)  Actually, the need to concentrate on where one puts one's feet and the over-arching temperatures don't encourage too much of the chatting at the moment.

I'm pleased to be able to inform you that Grandpere Tiger Puppet did eventually make it to Tulsa, Okalahoma.  He was picked up by JS on Christmas Eve - when a packet containing a pattern for some puppet felt hands, and some actual felt fabric, was sent to me for transforming into three pairs.   I assume these will eventually end up on the bodies of some of the Puppets, I've already been booked to make.  
Samples of the fleece fabric I intended to use to make these items had been included in the same parcel in which Grandpere Tiger had been packed.  The pink fleece sample was, as feared, somewhat "too pink" for the purposes intended.  So at my suggestion, since dyes in the USA are obviously different to those readily available here in the UK, JS has found some felt more suited to his needs, and I shall attempt to produce his requirements once the package arrives from Tulsa.    (Both sides of the Atlantic sincerely hope that it will not take 22 days for the journey to be accomplished now that the Christmas Mail hurly-burly is over!)
In the interim, two other Cuddlies have found new homes - one is actually a custom order version of 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/107350815/sleepy-teddy-art-doll-yellow-plush-furry?

The Buyer, who lives in Torquay, Devon, England, UK wants to have her Sleepy Ted made in the same fabric as our Baby Koalas.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/55190188/toy-koala-tree-bear-grey-fleck-and-white?

 This I will be happy to do, in between making the first batch of our Puppet Bodies for JS.  I intend to make the templates for these bodies later today, or sometime tomorrow, so that the production process can commence.  (Orders are met in strict order of receipt, and as JS's requirements have been ongoing since November, the current batch of 4 needed will get attention first).
Then on Christmas Eve, another order from Huron, South Dakota from someone looking for Ladies Size 5 Novelty Slippers arrived via the Etsy.com system.  (As these are already in stock, I shall be able to meet this order immediately and intend to ship them off by the end of the Year.)  The Christmas mail hold ups should by then be pretty well over, and South Dakota does suffer from cold temperatures at this time of year.  So, the Grey Rabbit Head Slippers ordered, which are similar to these                                                        

https://www.etsy.com/listing/153816646/ladies-novelty-slippers-brown-plush?

                                                   will definitely keep my customer's feet toasty warm once they arrive - for her, or a family member.  (As I currently am wearing a Size 7 version of our Panda Bear Slippers, I am in a position to attest to that claim!)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/155281164/ladies-panda-slippers-novelty-gift-black? 

Thus, you can see my days are set to be very busy with replacements (currently there are 15 Cuddlies waiting to be remade, or reintroduced in a different form!) in the coming weeks, so I'd  better get on with planning them. 
 In addition, there are several Cuddlies due to be renewed by New Year's Day, so  a rolling programme of relisting/retagging has begun - which hopefully will result in them all meeting their respective deadlines, together with some new descriptions of each particular Cuddly Toy.  By the end of the week, therefore, https://www.Etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES. should have a new look - in time to welcome in 2015. 
Do hope we'll be seeing lots of you there!  Until then, I'll close this week's post by wishing everyone a Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year.
Your friend.  Isobel.                                 
                                                                                                                

Cuddlies Update - and extending Good Wishes for Christmas and The New Year!

Good afternoon Everyone
Having allowed Cy Bear the chance to tell you all about the Tiger Puppets and the New Member of the Cuddlies Family, Harry the Sitting Cat, as the Shop (www.COLDHAMCUDDLIES.Etsy.com) is slowing down to cope with Christmas and the New Year,  I decided to use the opportunity of this week's post to wish everyone a thoroughly Blessed Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.  (Alas, "Happy" and "Merry" when applied to Christmas these days can have some unfortunate connotations - not that I am sure these could ever be applied to our Friends and Followers!! )
The plans for the Puppets remain on track, although Grandpere Tiger has yet to reach his destination.  The tracker on the parcel indicates that he reached the USA, but he has yet to reach his Forever Home with JS and his family in Tulsa, Okalahoma - a victim, doubtless, of the international Christmas mail rush, and super security at all Customs facilities thanks to the unsettling events which we keep hearing about on our news programmes these days.  JS has promised to let us know when Grandpere does reach him, and I'm praying (literally) that he'll make it before Christmas, even though he's not exactly a present as such.   As a result of this hiatus, it has been mutually agreed that even if completed, the Puppet bodies that have been ordered will not be consigned until after the Christmas/New Year period is over.  
Meanwhile, Cy Bear did mention last week that I was intending to make some curtains for the kitchen windows of my new home.  The mission  has been successfully accomplished  and now keep the draughts out, even though the room is somewhat darker than of yore.  

 
These provide an idea of what they look like - and I'm very pleased with the way they have turned out.  It's been nearly twenty years since I made any curtains - but I suppose, like the skill of riding a bicycle, once you've acquired it, the knowledge does not go away - merely reposes in the memory, and one hopes it can easily be resurrected when required!  This time around, having been asked to help daughter Clare recently when she made a pair for the first time, the memories were still relatively fresh!
Once the curtains were up, I also put up a new Christmas Tree, and decorated it with some baubles and lights that Clare and I had purchased a week or two ago.  For the last seven or eight years, Peter and I had had a fibre optic tree which had served our purposes brilliantly.  However, in the last two, it had begun to make peculiar, sparking noises when switched on, and last year the transformer had become very hot within a short period of being plugged in.  Elder daughter, Philippa, therefore decided that tree had come to the end of it's useful life, and although it accompanied me during the move from Wiltshire, I bowed to her insistence that a new tree should be purchased.  Accordingly, having arrived a few days ago, it is now up and lit - by two packs consisting of three AAA batteries. The interesting part will be to see how long the batteries last!  

Before any one enquires:  the picture on the wall is one that has been part of my life since the 1970's and was a gift from a Chinese priest friend from Hong Kong whom we'd had the pleasure of entertaining and helping after he'd trained in Italy, and had found himself - with no where to stay or any  means of getting back to Hong Kong.  He arrived on our doorstep one week-day morning and once we'd learned his story, Peter - who was at that time a Catholic journalist - used his connections to not only get an air-ticket home, but also to put his newly acquired priestly skills to good use.   He visited parishioners and when he wasn't doing that, he spent the whole time playing (and keeping entertained) daughter Philippa, who was then just over a year old.  (Peter was also in charge of a small rural Catholic parish in Suffolk, UK - because the incumbent priest was too ill to fulfill his duties. Part of his duties were to provide priests for the Sunday Masses each week, so, having a genuine priest on site was a great assistance to us at the time! ).
The picture is a silk screen painting of a Chinese Madonna and Child, and we used it as our family Christmas card several years ago.  It has travelled everywhere we've been since 1971 and has been joined by similar silk screen pictures of views of the Forbidden City in Beijing - one of which came from our Chinese guest, and the others from a Chinese professor's brother, whom we got to know when we were living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between 1975 and 1987!  It can be a small world sometimes!  All hang in my current living room, and are still referred to as "The Chinese Wall"!
Before we close for Christmas - here's a picture of Cy Bear taking part in a farewell photo session for one of the Dressed Coyotes in our Shop.  He's been adopted by a family in Cambridge, UK, and was duly dispatched on Tuesday of this week. 

His Forever Friend is a little boy and he's been wrapped up in Christmas paper, which we hope will still be appropriate by the time he arrives at his destination.  He too was launched into the turmoil that is known as Royal Mail at Christmas Time, but did travel via a route that should have ended up with him being signed for by 1300 GMT the following day.  We've not heard to the contrary, but we hope that it's a case of "no news, being good news"!  (However, if he does arrive late, I've been assured the New Forever Friend has a birthday in February, so Charlie Coyote will become the back-up present for that occasion!)
That means we've no Dressed Coyotes in stock at the moment - as Chuck Coyote found himself a Forever Home at the Craft Fair - which was part of the Kirkby in Ashfield Christmas Carnival on December 5th.
On that hopeful note, I'll close this post!  Please take it that Cy Bear is not only bidding Charlie Coyote farewell, but also wishing you all a lovely time with your Families and Friends in the upcoming festive season.  I do too!  
Isobel