Lilys House

May fayre

I sort of forgot it was Bank holiday ......it just crept up on me. Surely it can't be May already. All those jobs we were going to get done 'in the Spring'. Ha (there's always next Spring).

Anyway - today we did what we usually do for the Mayday holiday - we found a lovely village fair or 'fayre' to put it more rustic like !
This is what I love about England. Country village fetes and gatherings, young and old, dogs welcome too, stalls selling bric a brac , homemade cakes and jam, cider cocktails (half a pint of cider with a shot of creme de cassis and a splash of lemonade - too bad I was due at work...), nature treasure hunts, dog races, maypole dancing, morris men, plant stalls.....I could go on - it's my perfect environment!

I thought that this was such a beautiful idea..........

of course Lily jumped at the chance to make a crown. There was a basket of lovely flowers including forget- me-nots which I have a very soft spot for. She was helped to twist the twigs into a circle and then given free reign with the adornments..

Of course, it rained...a lot....but not before everyone had had a load of fun. We stood outside getting soaked and eating sausages in rolls, weighed down with goodies. I got a lovely bright rug for the play/sewing room, cycling helmet for Maddie, 2 books (one of them The Quilt by Ann Jonas, a beautiful story), a load of cotton thread, childs felted pure wool jacket (Monsoon), Mini Boden trousers in the most groovy fabric, gorgeous vintage cup, 6 well loved muslin squares (can never have too many, Maddie still loves her 'cloffie') - all for under fiver destined for a good cause. Now that was a good day out in my book.

unplanned outing

The weekend bought the first 'proper' sunny and warm day yet (chilly in the wind though...)

Dad had his shorts on for the first time this year.....this usually brings on lashing rain....

one of many personal 'jumping rocks'...
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It was good to get out :)

home sweet home

Ok, I admit I've been milking the 'time off' vibe !
There's been a lot of little jobs to catch up with over the last couple of days but I'm feeling a little more sorted out now with 20 loads of washing and a cupboard clearout under my belt.

We had a superb break. The children enjoyed it so much. Little Maddie was very good and was happy to be pushed around in the buggy for the most part. On day two she just crashed for a 2 hr nap in said buggy, something she never does............it was a case of complete sensory overload poor thing.

Its easier to show you our trip in pictures I think......so here goes..

Tower Bridge

China Town lanterns

The London Eye and Bodecea in foreground

Big Ben and Houses of Parliament (told you it was a total touristy trip !)

A misty Thames

St Katherines Dock, very close to the flat

Maddies birthday

Top of the world !

Natural History Museum

Tower of London

The gherkin and Tower...just love the contrast of old and new

I couldn't get any wireless signal in the flat and we had no TV. Really a blessing , we just read and fell asleep on the sofa in the evenings...bliss.

It's lovely to be back to this little blog, I missed it but was nervous about returning, heaven knows why. I feel a little out of the groove. I had a think about my blogging habits whilst away....I love, really love, the routine of a daily post. I truly feel that doing this has made me more aware of the sweet moments that happen everyday and to be grateful for them. I get such joy from all the lovely comments and am flattered that anybody reads my meanderings !

But some days it's genuinely hard to find more than scattered 10 minute chunks of time to sit and write, especially now that nap times are few and far between. The process can be quite time consuming as I'm sure you fellow bloggers are aware and I just don't want to be seen as 'on the computer again' by my family, which is a little how it was getting before we went away (sometimes justified, sometimes not !). Maybe I'll slow down a bit.

I suppose any activity that is essentially solitary is going to be seen as, dare I say it, a bit selfish ?

I guess it's like anything else - BALANCE.

I'd be interested to hear if any of you out there have the same feelings, do you experience any rightly or wrongly felt guilt regarding your blogging or blog reading ? How do you fit in posting and keeping up with and commenting on other wonderful blogs ? Lets all spill the beans.....we may pick up some tips....how, when, where and maybe most importanly why !