Saturday 12 January 2008

Two Bees...

Or not two bees.. that is the subject!

My man and I share a love of bees... not sure where this comes from and I may feel differently if I was on the receiving end of one of their stings.. but the humble bee is a wonderful thing!
Did you know that a bee hive is a 'hive' of industry with every member having a role to play.. a fairly democratic society I would say....however..15% of bees do not take part in the day to day household chores and choose not to dance or take part with the rest of the colony.. This anti-social behaviour is vital for the survival of the colony as these non conformists go their own way and find new sources of food and habitats. Without 15% of anarchic bees the hive would die!!! Now what does that say for our society??

The Christmas before last .. I wanted to give my man a special gift from our favourite artist.. Cleo Mussi.. so after a few clandestine phone calls and emails I commissioned Cleo to make a mosaic bee for my beloved. I told her of his love of bees and she made a magnificent specimen that I hid away until Christmas day. On exchange of our present to each other .. I discovered much to my astonishment, delight and roars of laughter.. that we had both commissioned Cleo to make each other a bee.. so we now have his and hers bees each with our initials and small symbolic decorations..i.e mine has the initial M and 15% incorporated in the mosaic and his.. a heart and the initial P ... Now isn't that a case of knowing your partner well.. I think so!





This bee theme was presented to me this Christmas with one of my all time favourite books and the first book that I can remember having as a very young child.. 'One, two, three with and and bee'... a classic story for young children about ant and bee and a shopping trip that went horribly wrong (sounds familiar).



This page is so, so nostalgic for me and is imprinted on my memory as one of my earliest...


What is it about nostalgia that can be so comforting...? Is it that childhood was a time of innocence, endless days and no worries... I love it as you already know from my subtitle.. A childhood revisited.

Here are some more bee items that we have collected along the way..
A rather unconventional Valentine that I made for beloved last year..


And lastly.. a honeypot..

15 comments:

Carol said...

Hi Michele,
I have two Honey Pots which I love and display on my dresser.
Nige heard somewhere that if the Bees all died, the world would end! thats a thought.
I love Bees and eat lots of honey too - on toast.
You two were made for eachother that is obvious. I am sure I read sometime ago that you both bought something else for eachother and it was the same pressie?
Hugs,
Carol x

Asti said...

Yes, your bees are lovely and what a story behind them. The Ant and Bee book looks gorgeous, can you still get it I wonder? I love the simple bold illustrations.
PS... my Dad keeps bees in Cornwall!

Niki Fretwell said...

Hi Michele,
What an incredible story - I'm sure Cleo must have struggled to keep a staright face, knowing you had both commissioned the same thing!
I think the two of you were destined to 'bee' together!

I love the bee frame that you made too.

Have a lovely weekend,
Niki x

Louise said...

Michele honey, you really must beehive yourself, more time spent buzzing around, plotting yet another post! I love to see the bees around the garden in the summertime and you see the odd bumble flying around in the winter too! It is fascinating to see where they build their little homes, I have many holes in my borders and one was even living in one of my plant pots! I can't recollect the Ant & Bee book from my childhood. I shall be looking up Cleo Mussi, those mosaic bees are gorgeous and such lovely items to keep for eternity, as is the lovely 'bee mine' frame. I do love those old pots but I don't have any because I absolutely loathe honey! Lovely post Michele. x

Pretty Practicals said...

Oh what lovely memories of Ant and Bee! We also had ABC with Ant and Bee. I remember one of the books had a shopping trip that went wrong and one of them ended up in bed (a matchbox) playing with plasticine and wind up toys.
Just the other day, I was discussing my childhood books with my son including Ferdinand the Bull, do you remember that lovely tale?
I bought Dave a little silver bee lapel pin a few years ago, following a funny incident. We were playing 'who wants to be a millionaire' and the million pound question was 'which animals suffer from Isle of Wight disease'? Dave was adamant that it is chickens and I was sure it is bees. As we were playing on a playstation, before I could stop him, he clicked the button for chickens... guess what the right answer was? Not chickens, that's for sure! The next day, I purchased his little lapel bin, to remind that sometimes his wife is right...
Chat soon, Liz

ginny said...

Hi Michele,
how funny... did you open them at the same time? I have become more fascinated by bees in the past year as we had some small bumbles who set up home in our blue tit box last April. I spent ages watching them working around the garden.

For me you have summed up the childhood / nostalgia comforting thing ...
'endless days with no worries'...
and also imaginary games and time to dream.
happy days
x
ginny
x

Anonymous said...

What an unusual liking and how so very lovely that you both chose the same idea. I think that says so much doesn't it!

Perfectly Lovely said...

what a sweet story...sounds like true love to me!

Forgot to ask you sooner, when I went to bath recently Im sure I saw some of you pics in a cute toy shop in the same street as Suzzannas, were they yours?

Jen x

Nonnie said...

Oh Michele, that is such a sweet tale about the mosaics. They are both absolutely gorgeous. You've totally taken me back to my childhood talking about Ant and Bee. I loved them so much.

bj said...

That is a FABULOUS love story! I love that you both were on the same page at the same time! You are blessed!
hugs, bj
I love the little bees, too.....

The Nostalgia Fairy said...

Beautiful bee presents to each other. Love the honey pot too.
Sandi x

noodle and lou said...

Michele, that is the sweetest story! You guys are so adorable. Sending you big hugs for a fabulous week...xox..jenn

Lesley Todd said...

Heehee! That is such a lovely romantic story of you both commissioning a bee. It really made me smile. Mr P and I bought each other exactly the same model of camera for christmas this year! We had a good laugh about it too! Your mosaics are really gorgeous. I have a thing for bees... they are just so furry and sweet. I think I will have to make a rubber stamp of one when I get the chance! :-)

Sweet Cottage Dreams said...

Michelle, that is such a sweet story! Isn't it funny how you both had a bee made for each other? Now must mean that you are really soul mates!

Like you, I remember stories and pictures from my childhood. Love how you and your husband share the same passion for things!

xo
Becky

Chelle said...

That is really interesting about the bee hives. You never really think of anything being as logical as people, so its always fun and amazing when you find we are not all so different. Even funnier about the bee mosaics! You two were just made for each other. :)

Hugs,
Michelle