A day in the Garden

Two posts in two days, I am doing well! We have had a nice day out in the sunshine, just enjoying the last day of the holidays and making the most of the sunny weather.

I took some photographs of the various plants that are growing out in the garden, it looks so colourful now compared to a few weeks ago when any colour outside was hard to find.

The Spring bulbs are flowering well and we have some lovely fringed tulips out in the tiny front flowerbed. They are real show stoppers.

I was very excited to find that my potatoes have started to shoot through, we may get spuds after all.

My newly acquired Aloe Vera plant seems to like its new spot outside, its is such a fab plant for medicinal purposes. It really does sooth a burn.

As you can see I have done lots and lots of washing today, its was all dried free of charge on the washing line and has that lovely fresh outside smell to it. I have even ironed it all - blimey how good am I.

When I took the picture of the playhouse I just didn't realise how tired looking it is. I think a lick of paint and some new curtains are definitely in order. Some cheery geraniums are a must for those window boxes I think.

Well we did manage to squeeze in one last picnic lunch. We dug out the old picnic hamper from the loft, dusted it down and packed it ready for lunch, We enjoyed cheese and crackers (the crackers where an unopened layer found in the box we bought at Christmas - still in date just!) squash poured from a slightly smelly thermos, crisps and fruit out on the lawn. It was a rather basic but surprisingly tasty lunch.

I spent some time this afternoon working on my hand made item for the "good enough to eat" swap. It didn't turn out as planned, so I gave it to Daisy and will start again tomorrow. She was pleased with it, but it didn't quite measure up to my expectations.

I will leave you with a couple of pictures that greeted me when I went to check the little ones earlier tonight. My two seem to be obsessed with anything that doesn't belong to them, and they do their up most to acquire the coveted item. Let me explain, P has had a cold for the past two weeks and his snoring at night has gone off the scale. It's like sleeping next to Nellie the flipping elephant. There are only so many sleepless nights a person can tolerate before action is needed. So a week ago I went out and bought a pack of ear plugs. The little pack contained three sets of brightly coloured plugs and were safely stashed in my bedside cabinet.

Slowly but surely the earplugs started to vanish. I did start to wonder if they had fallen out during the night or had fallen into the abyss under our bed. I now know exactly where they went!!

Daisy really suits day glow orange!

Alex lime green is just so you!

Till next time.

Alison

x

Hello

Well hello, it's been a while since I've updated, we have had a very a busy week with the little ones still on school hols and to be honest my head wasn't really in blogland.

We have had a mixed week of days out and lazy days at home. We were without our car for three days as it needed a new middle rear seat belt (it just stopped working for some odd reason) and an MOT. It took three days (yes you heard right) three days for them to replace it. I felt like I had been transported back to the 1970's when our only means of transport was on foot or waiting an age for a bus (we have a very rural bus service to our village). Anyway the kids managed to scoot everywhere whilst I hot footed behind them. We enjoyed some activities at the local library on a couple of the days which is always fab and free too.

We managed to get to Cadbury's world and had a really nice day out with the In-laws. We had lots of free chocolate and enjoyed our little tour round learning all about the the history of chocolate and we all enjoyed the part when you get to drink melted chocolate with your own choice of topping. I went for marshmallows, a little girl in front of me actually chose liquorice all sorts in hers - yuk, yuk, yuk.

Here's Daisy Doo sat by a mock up of an old Cadbury's advert.

We managed to meet my oldest friend and her two little ones at the Odds Farm Park which is a rare breads farm just five minutes from our house. We had a lovely if not rather cold day there.

I loved this old fella, I think he has a really sweet face. Daisy is mad about horses and rides each week. Unfortunately both of them are really allergic to horses. Daisy has to take antihistamines before each lesson.

I liked the chickens too, I would love to keep them but P loves his garden too much and would hate the damage they would do to his plants, not to mention the chicken poo.

This fella was most definitely in charge bossing all the hens around.

We went on a very long walk last Sunday to Virginia Water which is adjacent to Saville Gardens and Windsor Great Park. There is a massive lake there which we walked around whilst the little ones whizzed round it on their bikes.

Valley gardens is part of the park and they had some fab displays of daffodils, magnolias, rhododendrons and these weird plants called skunk cabbages. Strange name for a plant that doesn't smell.

The terrors managed to sniff out an ice cream van .

Its been a glorious day here today, really warm and sunny. I had arranged to meet my sister at 9.30 am to go off for a mooch around a large car boot sale. P was tasked with taking the little ones to the cinema to finally see Nanny McPhee. P hates car booties with a passion and would much rather scoff sweets and watch a good film.

It wasn't the best car booty in the world, yes it was large but there were so many traders there, I prefer the smaller booties with just stalls selling people's junk. I did manage to find a little glass sugar shaker for £1.50 which will come in handy when Daisy wants a little sprinkling of icing sugar on her eggy bread.

Also found these vintage coaster in their very own little case for just 50p

This little glass fella had to come home with me and is now on Daisy's window sill with all her other glass bits and pieces. He reminds me of the crocodile in the Enormous Crocodile by Roald Dhal.

Next task of the day was to stop at Waitrose and do the weekly shop. What should be advertised on the way into the car park , an antiques fair in the church hall next door. It would have been rude not to pop in.

I found a 1972 ladybird book for a couple quid which Daisy was really pleased with and also a funky Stratton compact which due to the fur (not sure if its real or fake) seemed to freak the kids out. Thinking about it, I do have this horrible feeling it might be real, if I had put any thought into it them maybe I wouldn't have bought it.

Well its the last day of the hols tomorrow and then boo hoo back to school on Monday. We have had a fab break and I have so enjoyed having the little ones at home. We are picnicked out and I think tomorrow will just be a day out in the garden and hopefully enjoying some sunshine. I never got my weeding done last weekend so still owe you a garden update post.

Oh I have been a brave novice blogger and entered two swaps. I am very excited about them both. First there is the "Good Enough to Eat" one and secondly the "great apron 2010 swap". I am really looking forward to receiving my parcels and also making my apron. I have pretty much got my bits together for the good enough to eat swap, I just need to work on my hand made item. Hopefully I will have a bit of time during the week to complete it.

I will leave you with a picture of my Kiss cushion, just to prove that I have been doing a tiny bit of crafting over the last two weeks. I googled the kiss cushion and found a couple of web sites that sell them made up for £300! They state that there are over 28,000 stitches and take the maker 50 + hours to make. I shall not let these facts put me off and I will finish the cushion even if it kills me!

Alison

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Hooray for the holidays!

What a lovely week we have had at home, no school and no rushing around. We have had relaxing lie ins and spent rather a lot of time in our PJ's.


We have spent the week seeing various friends, getting hair cuts, mooching around town and just generally relaxing. The little ones have spent lots of time out in the garden bouncing away on the trampoline and playing on the swing. We even ventured out this evening for a walk with the little ones on their bikes. Alex is funny, he only learnt to ride his bike last Summer and he is very wobbly still and seems to spend a large amount of his time crashing into hedges and walls. It makes for an exciting (read as stressful) walk.


I have been doing about an hours worth of sewing on my Kiss cushion each evening and am making very slow progress. I think the cushion is going to take rather a long time to complete. It isn't complicated just very labour intensive.


I haven't done any other crafting this week but I have spent rather a lot of time reading which is nice. I love a good book but normally my reading time is limited to the evening before I go to sleep. This week though I have been reading first thing in the morning before I get up. Its been fab, a much better time for getting into a book. On Friday I bought the Guernsey Literacy and Potato Peel Pie Society book which has turned out to be a great read. I finished it on Tuesday and have now ploughed head long into the Time Travellers Wife. I am about two thirds into it and am loving it.


Over the past few weeks I have stocked up on some great books from the charity shops, my to read pile is looking rather large but equally inviting.


Haven't done much in the way of baking this week either, we seem to still be inundated with chocolate so not much call for cakes this week. I am still waiting to make some millionaires shortbread, I might do that over the weekend.


I fancy taking the kids to see Nanny McPhee over the weekend if the weather isn't great or if the sun shines then we will probably spend it out in the garden. I have so much catching up to do outside. I have some new plants to dig in and we have loads of seeds that are growing in the mini greenhouse that I need to get to grips with. I think I will do a garden update post next week. I really need to get the boarders sorted out and weed free this weekend. Oh and the car desperately needs a wash too. It is covered in sand, we had some rain on Wednesday and today the car looks like its been in a sand storm!


We have a couple of days out planned next week, we are off to Cadburys world with the grandparents on Monday and on Tuesday we are meeting friends at Mead Open Farm. I love love love the Easter hols, its the first time in the year that we can plan some great days out with every chance that the weather might be warm or at least dry.


I am planning on decorating Alex's bedroom at some point over the next few weeks. I think I will make a start during the week and P will help me finish it off over a weekend. I fancy making a new roman blind, it doesn't look that complicated. I have made curtains before but never a blind. It can't be that hard surely?


Anyway, I'm waffling on as I'm tired, I have just had a lovely long soak in the bath it had my all time favourite bubble bath in it. Its really old fashioned, not particularly cheap but it is soooo relaxing I would highly recommend it. It smells lovely too.






Till next time.

Alison
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Happy Easter

Hello and happy Easter to you all. Did the Easter bunny visit your house? He certainly paid us a visit here. We are now the proud owners of our very own chocolate mountain. The little ones took this picture of their chocolate display this morning before they received another three very large eggs each!

We have spent a pleasant day with family and all went out for a lunch. I wish I could say the lunch was lovely but it was in fact it was very disappointing. We went to the Cheerful Soul which is a gastro pub run by a couple who won The Restaurant (TV programme) a couple of years ago. The food was not great and the service bad, however the company was good and we made the best of it. I just hate being disappointed, I was really looking forward to eating there.

I gave my SIL and MIL their Easter gifts and decided on carrot cupcakes instead of millionaires shortbread. Here they are, they tasted lovely even if I say so myself. The gifts seemed well received.

On Saturday we packed a picnic and headed for London with the plan to go to the Science Museum. We drove past the Natural History Museum and the queue zig zagged around the block, the Science Museum was just as bad, so a rapid change of plan saw us heading towards the River and popping over Lambeth Bridge towards the Imperial War Museum. We have never been before and I was a bit worried we would only be there for an hour or so before moans of "I'm bored" were being shouted. What a fabulous museum, it was so interesting and just the right mix of informative and hands on exhibits.

We saw lots of these:-

They had loads of planes suspended from the ceiling.

We went on the Blitz experience and sat down in an air raid shelter whilst bombs dropped all around us.

Here is Daisy and my sister sitting at desk in the 1940's class room. They had a fantastic 1940's house and a prefab to look around. The museum was also hosting a Ministry of Food exhibition which was really interesting. It covered rationing, the land girls and had a mock up of a 1940's sweet shop. The cafe at the Musuem served traditional war time fayre also. Me and my sister indulged in a bit of blancmange, haven't had that since we used to go to birthday parties back in the 1970's! We could have chosen a slice of beetroot and cocoa cake! We all had a great day out, P and Alex loved all the tanks and planes, us girls loved the glimpse of home life during the war. P & I went to look at the Holocaust exhibition which was very moving. You really do have to count your blessings and realise just how lucky we are today, no real worries.

After a busy day we headed home through London. I took a few pics I thought you might like. Just look how grey that sky is!

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament

A drive past Buckingham Palace.

Alex took this picture of our berries that we had on our picnic and I promised I would include it!

Here is my sugary mouthed boy enjoying his picnic in the fresh air.

Enjoy the rest of the Easter hols whatever you do.

Alison

x

Hello, its Thursday and school is out for two weeks - hooray. I love the holidays, no rushing around, no getting out of the door on time stress. Just some quality chill out time with the little ones.

My cold is so much better now thank goodness, I had a very miserable couple of days with it but thankfully is now on its way out. P is now suffering, and boy does he let you know he is feeling poorly. Why is that men make such a blooming fuss?

Had a busy week what with one thing and another. Had a couple of late nights so am feeling rather tired and in need of a lovely sleep in.

I managed to get out and about this week despite not feeling tip top and found a couple of little jugs to add to my collection in the charity shop. Do you like them?

I love this little hand painted parrot one. P said it was an old ladies jug - but what does he know hey!

This is a little very dark blue Aynsley jug that just had to come home with me. It looks the most gorgeous blue when the light shines on it, sadly this picture does not do it any justice.

Have you been into Waitrose recently? They are doing this new little range called Swallows and Sweet peas, its a home baking range I guess you would call it and it is packaged up in such a lovely way that it just shouts "buy me" in a very loud voice indeed.

Here are the little measuring cups that I bought, not sure why I needed them but they look so sweet. These are also from the range, little egg cups and cosies. I guess we will be using them this weekend. In our house you have to have a boiled egg on Easter Sunday!

Alex and I made some cakes yesterday for him to take into school for his Teachers as a little Happy Easter gift. I bought the rice paper flowers and the sparkly glitter at the CL Fair last Saturday.

Daisy's new quilt turned up in Tuesday which brought much excitement and bedroom rearranging. Daisy is so like me - it flipping scary. She loves her room just so and is a collector and hoarder just like me.

Do you like her quilt, it has some lovely duck egg blue colours in it. She felt she needed to pinch my duck egg blue (well more like teal actually) Love and Hope cushions from my room to sit on her bed!





I also bought these Susie Watson pillowcases at the CL fair, they are so lovely and crisp and have little pea green polka dots on them. I have a real thing for white pillowcases, my two pillows that go on top of the quilt always have to have white pillow slips. I love the feel of clean, crisp, pressed linen, I look forward every Monday to going to sleep on clean fresh bed linen - how sad I am! I wish I could say that I look forward to ironing all the bedding every week too.




Finally, here are the little needle cases that I made, I said I could make them and I did! I am rather pleased with the finished result and have sewn on some of the little ceramic buttons I bought a few weeks back. I have also made some matching pin cushions. I am planning on giving the first two to my MIL and SIL for Easter along with some home made millionaires shortbread and a little Gerbera in a tin from good old M&S. I would be very happy if I received them as a gifts so I'm hoping they will like them also.

Have a great Easter whatever you get up to and lets hope the weather is kind to us all (well dry at least would be a good start)

Alison
x

Sunday sneezes

Happy Sunday to you all, its a very sneezy and snotty Sunday here as my cold has come out with a vengeance. I am currently nursing a blackcurrant lemsip and feeling just a tad sorry for myself, I am so bunged up, which for me is the worse part of a cold. Oh to be able to breath through my nose again, it would be such a treat.



I was rudely awoken at 6.30am (old time) by my small boy who was fed up with sleeping. he decided it was time everyone was up and at 'em. It was just as well really as both of them have loads of homework to do and today we effectively loose an hour.


The Country Living Show was fab. We spent four hours drooling over the lovely stands and lets just say rather a lot of purchases were made. My MIL is the worst (read as best) person you could take to such an extravaganza of craftiness, she has no restraint at all and is down right encouraging when it comes to purchasing lovelies.


My best buy was my Jan Constantine cushion which I have been coveting since last Summer when I saw one on the Isle of Wight. Mil treated me to half of it instead of an Easter Egg (I bet she wished I'd chosen an egg, it would have been considerably cheaper). I took ages to choose as when faced with a huge choice I just go to pot. This is what I finally choose.







I got a lovely vintage glass jug and a print (just need to find a frame), a very sweet little needle case, a sweet little cotton nightdress for Daisy and a single patchwork quilt for Daisy's bed.











I liked this little print, its a copy of a piece of embroidery, thought the washing line pretty much sums up my life at times.






Here is the little needle case, I might have a go at making one but I will embroider Needles onto white felt rather than paying out for name tags.

Daisy was also treated to some Maileg furniture for her little rabbits and mice. I must admit I fell in love with the little highchair and the crib.

We enjoyed a nice lunch there too and all in all we had a lovely day.

Alex and P spent the day at London Zoo and I think they enjoyed themselves in spite of the weather.

Pepe is feeling better I think, she likes her new food and seems much more perky.

Here she is having a bit of a roll, the fat old pudding that she is!

Not a lot planned for today really apart from the normal Sunday chores of ironing, Sunday dinner, homework etc etc etc.

Hope your Sunday is considerably less snotty and sneezy than mine.

Alison X

Cadbury Goodness

Today has been a rainy grey day here in Bucks, a bit of a disappointment if I am totally honest with you. Anyway when its grey and miserable the best way to cheer oneself up is to get baking and make some yummy treats for the little ones and the big ones in the family.

I thought a few chocolate fairy cakes were in order and here they are all hot and naked from the oven.

A little bit of chocolate butter icing and some delicious Cabury goodness later and here they are all dressed up and ready to eat.

Did I ever mention my slight addiction to Cadbury's chocolate. I just love love love it and I really don't think any other chocolate compares. You can keep your fancy Swiss chocolate or your posh Belgium treats, give me a bar of good old Cadbury's any day of the week. Here are my top five Cadbury treats:-

1) Creme Egg

2)Flake

3)Chocolate Buttons

4)Freddo Frog

5)Dairy Milk

Do you enjoy a bit of chocy? Go on tell me your favourite nibble.

I am a bit worried about Pepe at the moment. She has been acting very depressed for the last few days. She has hardly budged off the bed and has eaten very little of her food. I am guessing the food is the problem, she has gone on hunger strike after deciding she hates Felix pouches. She has been a misery and not her normal self at all. Maybe some new food tomorrow will cheer her up, if not I fear a trip to the vets will be in order. Here she is in all her grumpy gingerness.

The foam finally arrived to make Daisy a cushion to go on the top of her chest in her bedroom. I was all excited and keen to start making the cushion cover. Well let me tell you what a bugger it was to make. I sort of got impatient and rushed it a bit rather than do it slowly and think things through. I wasn't happy with the finished result but Daisy was thrilled and has turned the chest into a little sofa. My next job is to sand the chest down and paint it white. A job for when the weather is a bit more consistent I think.

Here is the little spotty bench seat, adorned with Daisy's cushions and her little owls. Do you like the little knitted owl, he was from the craft fair at the weekend. He is filled with lavender and wheat and you can warm him up in the microwave.

Oh look another little owl sat in Alex's room next to Bertie Basset, they must be breeding those little owls.

Here's another pic of the bench, check out the rubbish looking cover. I may try to make another one when I get a bit more time and have a bit more patience.

Sorry this post has been a bit rambling, I did plan on writing it this afternoon when I was in the mood but P came home early and dragged me down to the garden centre for a cup of tea and a mooch round. I am now tired, not really in the mood and Alex is hassling me to use the computer. I am also coming down with a cold judging by the amount of sniffing and sneezing I'm doing.

Looking forward to Saturday when we are off to the Country Living show in London, which should be great.



Have a great weekend whatever you do.



Alison

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