Dad overdid the self lighting briquettes ............we were so popular with the neighbours.
check out that clean grill
balmy and peaceful, I dozed off with the dog outside and woke to find I'd been abandoned - Dad and Nick happily crashed out and watching TV....on such a gorgeous night ....come on guys !
oops.........forgot to do that !
This should be the beach...it happened to be a particularly high tide
We had plans for sand digging, dog running, lazing in the sun - good job the lovely beach cafe was serving coffee and bacon sarnies (proper plates and mugs you take down to the beach and return on the way up, most civilised).
Every year I do this....turn up at a sea filled beach that is..and every time I promise myself that the next time I see one I will buy a tide table. Yes, this will be the year.
Still, we hung around a bit in no particular hurry and soon we had a little bit of space to play. It was fun getting to our particular 'spot' at the back, we got a little wet whilst trying to time running around the rocks when the wave was on the out !
Harry was as brave as ever bless him (spot him there being engulfed??)
For a 'sighthound' he seems to have particularly bad vision though. We were killing ourselves watching him looking for the ball in the waves whilst it was literally under his nose....not the brightest sometimes, dear boy ;)
Hopefully I'll get on with the embroidery on the nighty I keep going on about over the weekend. Other than that I've no plans. Oh yes, there's tons I should be doing and who knows I may be in the mood for garden painting and ironing.....but I think not.
Have a lovely weekend :)
our morning walk in the sun.......
see how it looked in November from much the same place!
We love seeing and feeling all these changes...Maddie delights in being outdoors. She's recently started stroking the bark on particular trees, just fascinated with the texture, almost 'communing' with the tree. It was lovely to see and I was quite taken aback at her intensity. The seasons are all so obvious on this walk and we spot something new every day.
I forgot the camera this morning. A shame, today has been the warmest so far.. Maddie was holding my hand and skipping through the dappled sunlight with her little red gingham dress, sandals and pigtails ! Harry was trotting along in utter contentment. The new leaves are such a vivid acid green, it's all so lovely and serene.....aahhh!
Not a bad way to start the day.
....the other to finish. It's all made up but I'm attempting some embroidery....we shall see how it turns out ;)
This was pretty easy to make actually. I used part of a pattern I had for the top and just cut a nice wide skirt to gather for the bottom half. I'm pleased with the way the scalloped edge worked at the hem. I did have a little bit of trouble when the machine decided it wasn't going to play ball with the buttonholes but we got there in the end after much swearing and exasperation. I found some pretty pale blue trim that my Mum had given me (and had used on my clothes I think), so that tied in nicely with the vintagey feel.
She likes it too, most importantly. Satisfaction !
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.
Managed to score a lovely small, cotton sheet for 50p. One edge is scalloped and I'll use this as the hem for one of the nighties. I need to get these made to tempt Maddie away from the nasty sweaty, synthetic, red affair she insists on wearing !
Bit of retro embroidery will look rather cute too, don't you think ? Hope to get these finished over the weekend...
from this mouthwatering book.....
a much welcome treat after this....
garden sprucing (not finished ;)
'feeding' my poor parched dresser
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'...
.
It was good to get out :)
He's a big dog and it's a cat basket. He was protesting at the removal of his bed whilst I was painting the back room...............................
This is the view from my sleeping position.....trouble is I'm not sleeping. I hate that clock and its mocking neon digits. At 0226 I turn it round. It gets to the point where I don't want to know the bloody time. Maddie waking at approx 0630 if I'm lucky......hmmm, that gives me 4 hrs then. Great. And that's if I get to sleep right now.
This happens quite a bit, this sleepless phase. I've felt it coming for a few weeks. Usually starts with a couple of later nights due to work or just general 'going to bed later that I should'. Feeling wide awake at bedtime. Feeling energised, on an upswing in a creative way, be it with sewing or house decorating or tackling the garden. I ride this a bit, averaging 6 ish hours. Then bang...a night like last night. My brain would not switch off. It seems the more tired I am, the harder it is to get to sleep. And I'm a woman who is a very grumpy and intolerant moo on too little sleep (more so than usual, before all those that know me say it ;). And I stress about everything when I'm tired, including blogging! It's amazing how it alters my perspective.
I'm doing the usual, milky drinks, lavender oil, concentrating on the breath, no computer just before bed, etc, etc. My mind just laughs at such efforts and gets back to incessant churning. I know the way out is forcing myself to go to bed ridiculously early one night and breaking the chain, but I've got two nights on call to get through first.
So here I am.......zombie woman this morning. Huge shop to do, dog to walk and toddler group to attend. I may scratch the shop and the poor doggy and hope that the playgroup tires Maddie out enough for a sleep this afternoon - fingers crossed.
Going to try and spend minimal time on here and concentrate on not being evil to everyone, looking after myself, not feeling bad about not posting much (just pictures for a while I think - promise they'll be pretty, unlike the one above!) and getting the old sleep back on track.
I'll still be checking out my faves but may be a bit on the quiet side, hope you understand ....x
