Lilys House

winter beach

sometimes, what’s needed is a couple of hours in the fresh air, cold or not.

I’m afraid I succumbed to a nasty virus/flu/bug/whatever for the second time recently. Totally vile and totally ruined a solo few days away with my friend.

The girls have been similarly ill on and off too.  We’ve been curled up in the house for a lot of the time and nice though that is, I just had this overwhelming need to get us all out. My declaration was met with varying levels of enthusiasm – from squeals of excitement from Maddie, to groans and shuffling from a very teenage Lily!

 

 

The beach was all ours and the tide going out (misjudged that many a time).

Despite it having been so cold, it was sheltered and mild.

As so often happens when we ‘pop out 'for a quick blast, we stayed for a couple of hours…..

 

just playing in the surf, rock climbing and generally breathing in the goodness.

 

tired but satisfied and feeling very wholesome, we headed home via my Grandparents for a warming cup of tea, cake and chat

 

our quick jaunt took us in to the late afternoon..

  

the nicest, most chilled day I’ve had in a long time

There’s a lot to be said for stepping back a bit and taking time to fully relax.  I spend so much time on the computer, on my phone (the iphone – what a blessing and a curse!) and imposing lists and deadlines on myself.  Even checking emails last thing at night in bed (gah!) and wonder why I can’t sleep.

It’s going to change, before I go mad.  And if it takes an extra day to get things done, then so be it.  It’s not the end of the world.

city jaunt

Well, here I am, surfacing again from a great big pile 'o yarn!

Thought it was about time I put up some pics of the New york trip. Nick celebrated his 50th (shhh....) this year so I wanted to do something that we would both remember for years to come.  Way back, I booked this trip and had to keep quiet about it for most of the year - not an easy task for an excitable person like me ;)

Anyway, we went, we saw, we loved, we came back stony broke.  It was our first time in the States.  New York was so familiar from tv and films, it was weird and we both felt quite at home, which was unexpected. Of course the fact that there was no language barrier helped. What a noisy city though!

We managed to pick the few days when there was freakishly warm weather.  Having just had a couple of frosts at home, i presumed the weather was going to be the same over there. Wrong.  It was mid 70's,  very sticky and the cardies and scarves were quickly ditched in favour of the one lighter top packed 'just in case'.

At the end of the last day the weather broke and it rained hard, so we were lucky in that respect.

first glimpse....

the circus that is Times Square

drinks with friends living in Brooklyn

 

and lots and lots of walking!  I had to buy a pair or trainers as my super comfy boots didn't quite cut it.

I managed to eat super low fat ( well, with the odd slip up..) and had no bouts of pain.  I was gagging for cheesecake and the Magnolia bakery but those will have to wait until next time. There definitely WILL be a next time!

I'm hoping to blog more regularly again (yes, I know, you've heard that before).  Things are settling down a bit and I feel much more in control.  The shock of not earning what I did is waning and the woolly side of things is thriving.  I just need to manage my time a bit better and stop putting blogging to the bottom of the to do list.

On that note, I have some new solid and semisolid colourways appearing soon and the most gorgeous (I'm not just saying that, it really is!)  double knit yarn drying, pre hitting the Etsy shop.  I'll get some pics ready and do a launch post soon.

See you then x

by the sea

We have just returned from a lovely few days spent relaxing near one of our local beaches.  It was rather fun to be in a caravan only 10 miles from home!

We were blessed with beautiful weather, blue skies and a balmy breeze.

Evening on the beach is one of my favourite things, so much more pleasant without the crowds – it’s the best part of the day.

So we are back, refreshed and ready to start back into the routine come Monday.  I started today with a top to toe clean of the house (with help, I might add, nodding to Nick. I’ve been spending so much time dyeing and sorting out  businessy things that housework has been sorely neglected.  Think rummage sale!

I hope you have all been enjoying this gorgeous sun and have had a fun half term :)

good times

 

For the second time in 3 weeks I made the journey up to London and just beyond, back to my old stamping ground, the second time with Lily in tow.

My best friend is getting married in a couple of weeks and I am maid (or should that be matron) of honour and the girls are bridesmaids.

There has been lots of tweaking and measuring of the dresses, things sent backwards and forwards in the mail post alteration – very exciting indeed. We are all going to look like princesses, the dresses are exquisite.

After the hustle and bustle of the smoke (Paddington looking deceptively quiet up there in that pic), gorging on Krispy Kreme donuts (Lily made me buy a 12 pack), Chinese food, pizza and copious amounts of wine, it’s time to get with the program!

On a more chilled note……….the weather around here has been gorgeous.  OK, we’ve had a bit of rain but on the whole we have definitely turned the corner.  Everything looks so lush and beautiful.  The leaves are the most vivid lime green, flowers are everywhere.  My morning dog walk has been a delight lately, under the trees it’s so warm,damp and bursting with life, almost tropical.

 

a nice diversion from the election ;)

Have a great weekend !

an outing

at the weekend we visited some friends staying on a farm about an hour away. The weather was warm or more accurately, milder than it has been and the sun shone.

We had lunch at a lovely old pub, our first meal outdoors this year.The food was excellent, hearty fare, the girls played without fighting (!)….

and the dogs soaked up the rays (still a disc of ice in that bowl though)

  

down on the farm,  fun was had feeding the residents

and yes, I did just happen to ask the farmer what he did with the wool and alpaca after shearing …..(leave your number and you can have it was the answer – it’s usually just binned if no one shows an interest).   Well, how could I refuse ?

On the way home we were rewarded with a lovely sunset, a fitting end to a really feel good day.

bliss

Saturday heralded the long awaited trip to Fibrefest. 

Nicky and I really needed a girly day away, full of unfettered yarn and fibre lust.  We got up to the venue in good time and spent a wonderful day slowly browsing the many vendors.

I met some lovely people only previously ‘known’ through Ravelry or Etsy.  It was so nice to put faces to the names.  I even met some people who had purchased my yarn, woo hoo ! I’m definitely going to get a stand next time.

I managed to blow my budget pretty quickly on a wonderful organic sheepskin (now called ‘Daddy sheep’).  Oh my…it is the most comfortable, squidgy, soft and cuddly thing ever and is destined for my rocking chair.  Or wherever I decide to park myself.  Having been bitten by the fluffy bug and broken through the barrier of that first purchase, the floodgates were open.  I  came across the most gorgeous mohair  rug from these friendly people.  Well, you know what I’m going to say next, don’t you ?  Lets just say it looks wonderful draped over my bed. (ahem).

Nicky didn’t exactly discourage me but I got my own back later ;)

We left with palpitations and a sort of desperate ‘we really need to go now’ scrabble back to the car.  It was great !

I’ll leave you with some pics of the booty..

 

I’m still in Cornwall, so might get another beachy post in before the end of the week, fingers crossed….

recycle day

Wow, it feels as if I've been neglecting my blogging duties of late......I can tell you that I've barely opened the laptop this week.  I won't go into what a crappy week at work its been (read very little sleep, no staff and major office politics) beause that is interesting to only me.  More annoying than interesting really.  Hey ho......that's the way it goes sometimes. Just got to make it through tonight then I can forget about it for two whole weeks !! Cornwall here we come.  The weather's not meant to be good but I don't care at all, just to get away for a while will be bliss.  Our return date is open but we will stay a good week of my hols for sure.

We did get out on Friday to our local park where a recycling fun day was in full swing.....

 

Big Beat were brilliant and got everyone involved...

We were also entertained by this bizarre and slightly scary creature...

who was about to experience the first outdoor 'trashyectomy'  by these highly trained medics....

Very good fun indeed!

See you all in a couple of weeks max. Hopefully I'll return inspired and refreshed, miracles do happen !

I'm taking the laptop to have a good old catch up with my faves (I hate just skimming)....in the peace and quiet......:) 

see you later....xx

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'...
.
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 !