52 weeks of happy

{ 15/52}

1. SNOW, so much snow, this has made me happy for a number of reasons, but it has certainly made the kids & dog happy, little Barns loves it! he's made me chuckle every time he asks to go out & run around like a loon in it

2. slippers, these make me happy every single day {if i'm home they are on} but i've been especially appreciative of them lately

3. some happy colourful knitting, a very quick belated birthday present made up for a small person, based on a basic mobius cowl, knit in garter stitch in left over yarn from another project - i've enjoyed knitting this

4. a new print for the littlest one, from the absolutely brilliant mr printables website

52 weeks of happy

{8/52}

1. december is upon us - we're all rather excited

2. our latest film arrived - i've been wanting to watch this for ages, so looking forward to snuggling down later with it this evening  {or maybe tomorrow as we need to catch up with the killing III first} 

3. happy post! i was really lucky to win a little give-away from lilymoon, over on her facebook page, these beautiful postcards arrived this morning, just so lovely

4. i had my first gingerbread latte of the season this week - mmmm sure it won't be the last

you can visit lilymoons etsy shop over here or pop over to facebook as i think she has got another give-away going at the moment

52 weeks of happy

{4/52}

1. think i may just have found the perfect pattern for my noro yarn, i'm loving how this is knitting up

2. school holidays = visit to my folks, the kids get very excited about visiting & its lovely for me to get to spend some time with my mum {& little O becomes ever so helpful around her nana} this visit we also helped my {not so} little sister to move into her very first house {& see her new baby bump for the first time too!}

3. in between the rain showers, getting out for blustery walks with my boys

4. then being able to snuggle up with them both {maybe with a movie} to keep warm & snug

ten

since my littlest started at school, Barney has been getting longer weekday walks the days i'm not at work, it's just the two of us & it's great, i love where we live, as in less than five minutes from our front door i can be lost {quite literally sometimes} in the middle of some of the finest countryside i know, even when it's a little drizzly we head out, it's so so quiet, we often barely meet anyone else {aside from a few sheep, cows or pheasants - which are way too tempting to chase for our little terrier!} these pictures were from a week or two ago, as i often want to be carrying as little as possible i usually only have my phone to take some photos {but i did get some great ones onto instagram from today's walk - tall trees, fairy toadstools & the briefest glimpse of a young deer - click over on the instagram link up on the right hand side to see}

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!

getting over it

this lovely weather couldn't have come at a better time for me, i'm feeling back to my old self & the littlest one {who also had the same bug the week after me} is also on the way back up - thank goodness, still there is something to be said for slowing right down, ignoring as much of the other stuff as possible & just spending time caring for your babies 

there has been some feet up knitting time, a new sticker book & den building,  the easter bonnet is ready for this afternoons parade & the dog has been on some lovely long walks, bring on the easter break - especially if the sun keeps on shining, 

one week in

gosh that went quick! this week has been a shock to the system & getting back to work/school was the hardest for us all, poor Barney got so used to having us all around, all the time it's been rather a shock for him too i think, still only five weeks till half term, evenings getter lighter & the signs of spring will hopefully be on their way, we kept up the new years day tradition of watching the morris dancing {despite the dismal weather} although we've continued to have more power cuts the past week  {i had to despatch the hubs out for more candles & wood for the burner just to keep us going} i've cast on for a new pair of socks - to keep my feet warm too!

hibernating

we seem to have had all the cough & cold bugs thrown our way in the last few weeks, we've all be fighting them off with varying degrees of success! little O & i seem to have been hit hardest & have been spending the last couple of days hibernating at home {i'm very lucky to have some great neighbours happy to help me out with the school run}

but don't think i've been snuggled up on the sofa watching dora for the umpteenth time! i've been trying to get on with sewing the mountain of nativity costumes that need to be ready for next week, along with ploughing my way through some of the christmas knitting on my needles, indulging in a little on-line christmas shopping, as i can't actually make it out to the shops {far far better this way but it does mean i miss out on an excuse to have a gingerbread latte}oh & having a practice run on the 'christmas morning muffins'

mini make

i'm juggling a few projects right now, knitting & sewing, & there are a whole heap of ideas i want to get started on if i can find the time & motivation, the weekend was far to busy to get much done, friends visiting, girls night out, then an emergency trip to the vets for a cut on Barney's leg {which resulted in stitches, a sulking dog & a very light purse}

i did finish this last week though, a quick little commission for a car crazy toddler, i hear it went down very well with the recipient!

  

the dots are Amy Butler, teamed with some brown gingham & i really can't remember what the car print is called but think it's from 'prints charming', i know it came from fabric rehab quite a while ago, 

doubt i'm going to get much done with this sorrowful dog following me round, but at least he'll get some peace as the kids go back to school today!

in the dog house

barney has been in big trouble this week, firstly he ate through the power lead for my netbook, so now i'm eeking out what is left of the battery until a new one is delivered {please please let it arrive on monday}then later the same day he got hold of one of my knitting bags, i found it strewn around the garden, this time he left the yarn alone but has managed to chew/eat/lose a pair of my wooden knitpro interchangeable needles - aaaarrhhh {whose idea was it to get a dog anyway- oh yeah mine} 

luckily i had finished a little birthday knitting for a friend of mine before he'd got his cheeky paws on the knitting bag, as i now know its arrived safely i can also share it here too!

at cute quick hat pattern, which when i'd finished it i loved so much that i cast on for another one straight away {clearly still avoiding starting the big christmas knit for the mr!} for this one i used some light grey pompero, which i wasn't too keen on in the ball but it looked & felt lovely knitted up, so i might have to order a few more balls from kemps, my ravelry details are here

will be back as soon as Mr Amazon delivers my new lead

the carrot thief

we didn't really have enough space out back to grow carrots in our garden {next year i'm contemplating growing them in the front garden} but i had a go at growing some in pots, i knew they would never get very big, but i just roasted them whole with other veg & they were very tasty, they'd happily been growing away in a pot on the deck until Barney realised what they were, you see he loves carrots, i often give him a stick or two when i'm peeling some for tea, so once he knew he had a ready supply he could help himself to they started to go missing! i had to move them

they've been living on the garden table for the last few weeks, but with today's wet & very windy weather they got knocked over, not quite sure how as it's a heavy tub, but maybe it had already been pushed slightly off the table by one of the little folk living here, but then lots of other things have been flying around the garden today {what's left of the poor runner beans has taken a huge battering} so i retrieved what was left of the carrots {some still so tiny they'd be great props for O's dolls house} i've also made a apple & plum crumble as we all need something warming today, first day back to school / pre-school, aside from the wind it's certainly been very quiet around here

camping in the cold

last weekend we went camping in the new forest, this is the second year we have gone camping at this time of year & i imagine it will be the last, having pitched the tent in pouring rain, we spent the rest of the weekend avoiding the showers or wrapping up from the cold {i packed plenty of woollies & hot water bottles!}

it wasn't really all that bad, the kids had a great time & so did barney, who was very well behaved on his first camping trip, we picked a nice quite pitch, in what was very big & busy camp-site, we did a lovely lovely long walk {with the reward of  pub lunch at the end} spent time with good friends & did get to see some sunshine  - so not really a washout!