52 weeks of happy

{18/52}

1.playing around with my fabric scraps has resulted in an obsession with making a scrappy stripy quilt top! this one might take a while, but i get a big smile every time i catch sight of those fabric scraps

2. lazy Sunday morning, pancakes for breakfast = very happy

3. having to get up early on a work day was made a lot happier by catching a glimpse of a pretty moon & the most beautiful coloured sky

4. sorting through the baby clothes, this is a double edged sword, i'm going to become an auntie again which makes me very happy, but it also means no more babies for me, i must have a big clear out - but  being able to pass onto someone special certainly eases the blow

52 weeks of happy

{10/52}

1. another food related happy, grannys bread, made with the help of little O today, still warm from the oven, just perfect spread with butter

2. school evening carol service at our village church, my little angel, it really was lovely

3. made a start on writing some cards, feeling far more organised now!

4. the children decorated the tree & i actually didn't feel the need to move it all around again once they'd gone to bed! 

52 weeks of happy

{9/52}

1. homemade mince pies - you can't beat them {although i do cheat a little & buy a jar of mincemeat} i could make a batch of these every couple of days as they never last long,

2. being poorly is the perfect excuse to stay at home keeping warm & snug, the littlest one was off school a couple of days {seeing her in her new xmas nightie makes me very happy}

3. i had a go at making some sweet sugar & cinnamon almonds, they worked a treat first time & didn't last long either! i plan to make another batch to gift as presents, this was the recipe i followed, i halved it this time but won't be next!

4. more knitting on the go {knitting always makes me happy} another quick knit - will share when it's finished

six & seven - 52 weeks of happy

 {1/52}

1 .a weekend with very little planned, quality time as a family, the small people being able to get out front & play with friends, being able to slow down & take it all in

2. nutella madeleines, recipe from over here, so tasty

3. the last of the home-grown veggies - not very many but they tasted good too!

4. the sunshine, i don't mind the cold {in fact i rather prefer it sometimes} but i do love to see the sunshine

family camp

a perfect weekend for the last camp of the year - it was our village beaver/cub/scout family camp weekend, the sun shone, the children had so many fun activities to try out & we were in beautiful field less than five minutes from home, little O & i actually cheated a little & came home for the sleeping bit, mainly as i hadn't wanted to get the large tent up for only 24hours {but also as i'm feeling rather exhausted from the whole back to work / school routine} it was some lovely 'time out' i even had a great time making a wooden pendant, some knotted key rings, brushing up on my juggling skills and den building - all good clean fun

the next phase

goodbye summer, hello september & a move into a new phase for me, we had a lovely farwell to the summer holidays, a trip up to the paralympics, a picnic in the park, a spot of baking, then all change as my littlest started school this week, i felt a little lost at first but have found my feet, as she is slowly but surely finding hers! & the weathers being kind so i've even found some time to sit in the garden with a little knitting to occupy my mind, it's my first day back to school/work today - how many weeks till half term? too many:

the peaks

i feel i've just about recovered for our recent camping trip, the drive up to the peaks was not the best start, what should have been a four hour drive took us eight hours!!! not much fun, then unfortunately we had to pitch our tent in rain, which meant quite a bit of water got in, thank goodness our friends were already pitched up & were able to offer the kids a dry place to shelter & some sausage sarnies to tuck into, the weather did improve, although it was rather a mixed bag, with good company & some breathtaking countryside we still all had a great time,  the hubs was very pleased to have his cosy new cardi to keep out the chills, this was another project that took far longer than it should have done, but was worth all that hard work, as it fits & he's really happy with it

the pattern details can be found over on my ravelry page

happy days

i may have said this before but i truly love the summer holidays, we've really slowed right down this year, we've been doing things, going places but at our own pace, but i've also kept free time for the kids {& i} to just be, little O is a real home bird anyway & she's spent an awful lot of time in her sand pit over the holiday & those beautiful moments when they play so well together, despite the 3year gap between them {one of those moments is happening right now, they've turned the front room into a race track / garage, using the sofas as their race cars! - which is why i'm hiding upstairs with the dog!}

although i can feel autumn in the air already & along with that comes the sewing in of the name tapes & visit to the shoe shop for new school shoes,

slow down august please & gift us with a few more days of sunshine yet - that would be just peachy

another year

oh were to start {would probably just be easier to do an update on what we haven't been doing} the summer holidays started early for us, with the start of our family birthday month, i celebrated my birthday with breakfast in England & ended it with dinner in Italy, such a lovely trip to a beautiful place, i felt truly grateful, i was also given some beautiful gifts i shall use & treasure for years to come

we've then celebrated birthday number two, which mostly involved football {presents, party & cake!} but all went generally smoothly - phew,

i'm on some crazy mission to redecorate/revamp the house on a budget, finding the time is  my biggest problem,  i've been busy with the yarn too - the camping granny is finished in time for the next camping holiday & the monster of a cardigan for my man is finally done! hooray, such a weight off my shoulders, but they both truly deserve a post all of their own! back soon,

wellie walk

feeling rather fed up & depressed with all the rain lately i was keen for us all to get out the house today, so with wellies & waterproofs on we headed out & were rewarded with a rather muddy but mostly sunny walk, i feel so lucky to have some truly beautiful countryside right on my doorstep - in less then five minutes walk from our front door we can be in the middle of fields or woodland, Barney was at his happiest, the children didn't complain once {& had a great game of hide & seek in the woods - we only lost Barney the once!} we even came home via the pub! i have been busy knitting {the boring man-sized jumper} & sewing lots {end of term teachers presents} i'll share when i can! 

being three

wasn't it great when all you had to worry about was if your knickers matched your wellies! {not that she's bothered}

a rather unplanned break

some rather annoying folks have stolen the cables than bring internet to our little village! we've been down since tuesday & it looks like we'll be down for another week - ho hum - so you'll have to wait another week to see what i've been making!

we've been keeping ourselves busy though!

tea time treats

i'd had a madeleine tray on my 'wish list' since my birthday last summer, unfortunately no one took the hint, so feeling totally inspired by watching Rachel Khoo i ordered myself one. it arrived today & by tea time we were tucking into a delicious plateful! they really were amazing, still warm from the oven, we all declared them to be a success - as you might guess, they didn't last long

a very good friday

some unexpected sunshine, loved ones, tasty food & lots of chocolate - a very good friday indeed {mini crochet egg baskets made up by my mum, from plastic carrier bags or twine}

beach trip

we were lucky enough to start the easter holidays early round here due to a school inset day, so after a lovely lazy pyjama morning we wanted to make the most of what will probably be the last sunny warm day for a while, we packed up and headed out for a late afternoon trip to the beach, it was really lovely, the boy was the brave one & headed into the water {which meant the dog followed suit!} the littlest happily danced in the sand & had a little paddle, the hubs ran around after the dog {who was enjoying chasing the kites which were flying around!} & i mostly sat still, watching & crocheting, then we treated ourselves to a fish & chip supper on the way home - just lovely!