More thanks

I've been thinking more about all the things I'm thankful for. And of course there are all the obvious ones, John, our animals, our lovely home and garden, our health, my art.

But I'm also very grateful for the fact that I love reading and am lucky enough to be able to buy books and magazines to my hearts' content. In fact, sometimes more than I manage to keep up with. I love the thought that there is a pile of books on top of the kitchen bench that I haven't read yet and that I can grab one anytime the fancy takes me.

But there is one magazine that never ends up on this pile as I start in on it as soon as it arrives in my letterbox. It is the Selvedge one and the first thing I do with it is not to read it but to sniff it up. It has the most wonderful smell of ink on newly printed pages. For me this is better than any other smell. I just love it! Must be the librarian in me. But as soon as the smelling is over I start to read!

The magazine has so much more to offer than just its smell. It's full of beautifully designed and laid-out pages. Even the adverts are gorgeous. In this issue (no 31 and yes, I have them all from no. 1 onwards) there are great articles about the history of sequins, Swarovski crystal, and what I found most interesting, St. Catherine's Day (25th November). Saint Catherine is the patron saint of unwed women and more recently also of fashion. If you want to know more fascinating fact about her, get the magazine!!

If you don't know this magazine yet you can find all information about subscriptions and back issues here on their website.