CREATURE COMFORTS

We're having a HOOT of a time watching the Oscar-winning British

series "Creature Comforts" produced by Nick Park/Aardman studios.

If you love stop-motion clay animation and Wallace and Grommit,

you'll get a kick out of “Creature Comforts” and seeing the quirky,

spot-on interpretations of the voices of everyday British folk character-

ized into animals.

My favorite is the voice of this ol' Welsh fellow turned into a 

wrinkly old Shar-pei dog with his puppy who likes to workout to

Jane Fonda videos (series II). Each episode has a theme the animals

follow and the humor is often dry and filled with British colloquialisms —

both of which I love since I’m an anglophile and my hubby is Welsh.

Punky Rowan loves this stuff too. Her favorite characters are: one

existential hamster; a leisurely, lackadaisical husband and wife cat

and dog; some chatty Welsh seagulls, and a jaguar covered in

bandages at the vet’s.

   (Rent these from Netflix or watch a few on YouTube and get set

to giggle uncontrollably!)

WELSH WOOL TAPESTRY BLANKETS

My homage to Wales today is about my new passion for vintage 
Welsh Tapestry Blankets. 

Just look at these blankets (photos credit and further observed here). 

I love the weave patterns and the vibrant colors (different on each side). 

We only have one vintage Welsh blanket, given to us by Allister's dear, 
dear, gran:

And we hope to collect more as the years go by, with plans to 
gift them to our daughters when they are older and excited 
to decorate their abodes with something fantastically Welsh!

Homage to Wales

My husband Allister is from Burry Port Wales, Carmarthenshire UK. 

And though he has lived in the states for half of his life now, 

he feels the draw of his past life – his Welsh roots and his celtic 

heritage like a hypnotic, compelling undertow.

I’ve visited Wales only once thus far, and stayed for a month with 

Allister's dear grandmother Anne, and I loved it, the miles of sun-

infused daffodils in February; our wanderings across miles of sand 

beaches, and through the ruins or restorations of amazing castles 

like Kidwelly, Castell Coch, and fantastic Cardiff Castle. 

Yet my most treasured experience of Wales was visiting our dearest 

poet Dylan Thomas’ home and boathouse and his infamous writing shed 

on the estuary at Laugharne. I wish I had had a digital camera then, 

the array of photos I would have. Ah well, it was 1996. Lovely memories!