French Knots

Car Trouble

The week didn't get off to a great start. The Baby Brother and I were driving home when the brakes failed on my car. As I was trying to slow to turn right on a busy main road across the oncoming traffic. Well had the brakes worked I would, of course, have waited for a gap in the traffic.  It was awful,scary and a bit out of body. I then drove the last 2 minutes home at 2 miles an hour, thankfully the road was quiet. Then once I was home the 'what ifs' started - I was due to go to Ikea the following morning on the motorway! Luckily we have a friend who is a mechanic and he came and sorted everything out for me. Ghastly.

 
So a pretty little cup in a perfect shade of blue was just what I needed to get me back on an even keel.

 
And 2 for 99p was a perfect price too.

Have you been watching Big Fat Gypsy Wedding? Come on admit it! The compelling awfulness of it had me hooked. And look what my Sister in Law made

 
Oh yes, she's watching it too!

 

Sunny Interlude

We are knee deep in half term, after a couple of grotty grey days the sun has come out today. Hurrah! So we dashed off to the park to make the most of it, playing football, a go on the swings and on the roundabout blew the cobwebs away. A green gym has been installed over the winter with a dozen different machines to try, some looking rather painful! I tried a gizmo that swings your legs from side to side at the waist which just made me feel seasick! I'll stick to dry land in future.

So The Baby Brother is having a little snooze, My Little Helper has gone to a friend's house to play and The Big Sister is chilling out watching rubbish on tv...I mean Hannah Montana....no I was right first time!

 
Me, I'm admiring the shadows. Lina posted instructions for stiffening doilies, which is so much better than having them in a drawer. These tiny ones are so intricate and twirl in the slightest draft.

 
Thank goodness the sun came out to play.

Annie everywhere

After seeing quite a few bloggers commenting how brilliant the Annie Sloan paint is I ordered a pot of Versailles and got busy with the paint brush. The Baby Brother needed some storage for his clothes so add a super cupboard rescued from Emmaus the wonderful second hand emporium to the new tin of paint and ...ta da!

 
 
It went on really well, no rubbing down, no undercoat needed and just one coat. Perfect quick project.

Look at the lovely shadows too

 
A bit of winter sun to lift the spirits, and those sweet,tiny bootees ( a gift from a very talented lady) did they ever fit his feet?!  

Then I was on a mission, the shelves in the hall were next to meet the paint brush.

 

Don't sit still too long round here or you'll get painted too! 

Apple Picking

 
These glorious sunny days are such a gift, I am storing the indian summer in my heart for the grey days ahead. This weekend I couldn't enjoy the sunny weather as I had the lurgy so plans for allotment digging were put on hold.

Last weekend we picked our apples, the biggest crop we've ever had. The children joined in catching the apples as Mr FK picked them from the laden branches and we all peeled and chopped the bruised or damaged ones. I then used every pan we have to stew them and filled the freezer with apple picking goodness for the winter months.

 
There is something so satisfying about food for free, no effort required apart from Mr FK balancing precariously on a flimsy branch to reach those last few tantalising apples!

 

Edited to add - For those of you having kittens, he's not on the roof of our house! We have a brick workshop at the bottom of the garden, same size as a garage.

End of term feeling

And breathe.....! The pell mell rush to the end of term is over, school fete went well ( it rained on us from 8am till 3pm but people still came) leavers disco, Year 6 production, Infant production, Infant sports day, two birthday parties, two birthday teas, visiting the new secondary school.......all we need now is the sun to return so we can relax and enjoy the hols. The day they imposed a hose pipe ban it started raining and hasn't stopped in the intervening three weeks.

This little rascal is growing fast, has just moved on from open mouth style kisses to squeezed and pursed lips, happily delivering kisses left right and centre. Of course you can never have too many snuggly buggly kisses.

He is sitting on my £2 charity shop find

Random flower shot, wonderful colour and papery petals.

Pre rain I grabbed a few minutes with wine and crochet in the garden, enjoying the table that Mr FK renovated. The top was a bit warped and wonky so he replaced it with an old school bench which, cut in half, was the perfect fit.

So now the summer hols stretch before us, no mad morning rush to find pe kits or a recorder, no school pick up or homework. We are off to Cornwall, near Looe, where I hope we will find some sunshine. Or at least no rain. It's about 25 years since we holidayed in Cornwall, I'm not sure why as it is such a wonderful part of the world and I'm really looking forward to it. I've made miles of bunting to decorate the caravan awning and got the picnic blanket at the ready! Happy summer!   

North Norfolk

The first week of the Whit holidays was wonderful sunshine and as we set off to drive to Norfolk for the second week the sun was blazing down. The caravan was packed with swimsuits, beach things and suntan lotion. So naturally there was a huge thunder storm our first night there and rain on and off for the rest of the week. Till we were packing up to come home and then the sun came out again! We still had a good week exploring, admiring the beach huts at Old Hunstanton, a snip at £18,000!

Expensive but very pretty in a perfect range of colours. The Baby Brother was a bit unsure about the sand, strange squidgy stuff for walking on but fine for eating was his verdict.

We had a picnic and played footie, the children paddled and as it was a bit overcast we had the beach practically to ourselves. Lovely.

Over the course of the week we followed the coast road to several picturesque villages

and harbours, some viewed from the car to avoid the rain and others explored in the drizzle in true 'English on holiday style'.

The charming Stiffkey Stores had a tempting mix of provisions and gifts.

I want to paint my window frames in a soft sage or duck egg blue like so many of the shops and cottages we passed, but first I'll have to replace the remaining horrid plastic windows. We have changed all the window frames at the back of the house to wooden sash style windows so only the side and front to go, including two large bays so it may take some time to save up!

We made it to lunch at Wiveton Farm, sadly not sitting at the jaunty painted tables under the trees, but inside was very jolly too with a juicy colour scheme and covetable tablecloths - I wonder where they came from?

My Little Helper was very impressed with his hot chocolate and my crab sandwich was scrumptious. And the strawberries and cream that came with meringue on top.....mmmmm!

We had cosy evenings in the caravan playing Junior Scrabble,( My Little Helper loves to beat us!) reading and we hooked up the tv to watch Springwatch as it was just down the road from us at Pensthorpe, the children were enthralled by the close up footage of the birds so we decided to visit. It was amazing, so much to see. Despite another wet morning we walked around the nature reserve, The Big Sister spotted a Water Vole in the river and My Little Helper was really impressed by the mushrooms growing in the woods. The gardens are planted with imagination and the variety of birds on the lakes and marshes is amazing. We were pond dipping as the sun broke through in the afternoon and The Baby Brother toddled after ducks squealling with excitment. A perfect family day.

Having the caravan is opening up all sorts of places to us, who would have thought we'd spend Christmas in the snow in Scotland, Easter in the sunshine in Southport, Whit exploring Norfolk and weekends away close to home make wonderful mini holidays. Roll on Cornwall in the summer! 
 

  

May weddings

It was our 22nd wedding anniversay a couple of weeks ago and it was also the day some friends chose to get married. We left Mr FKs Mum looking after the children and headed off for a night away at the wedding. It was at a lovely country church, nestling in the village in the sunshine. Their first hymn was  Morning has Broken which we had sung 22 years earlier almost to the minute. I had a lump in my throat thinking of our day and the innocent optimism with which we started married life. We spent the day enjoying good company, champagne and the wonderful countryside surround the marquee where the recpetion was held and the evening dancing, drinking seabreezes and nibbling minatue portions of fish and chips which were served just as we were feeling peckish. The perfect way to celebrate our anniversary.

Look at my latest jumble find, I was planning to cut it up but love it's Germolene colour and woolly snuggliness so I think it's got a reprieve from the scissors.

Look at this little fellow, we went to our local museum and spotted him watching over the display of Mummies. I think he would make a cute softie with his quirky face and ferocious eyebrows! Yes I do still make things from time to time despite this blog becoming a wafflefest about family life with never a stitch  sewn or knitted! I've just started a new crochet project, risking the little finger pain again, to make some granny  goodness. As the sun is shining I'll take some pictures to show you.....

Catching up

The last few weeks have been busy, nothing major, just general five-person-family-busy.

The Baby Brother celebrated his first birthday in style with not one but two birthday parties, the sun just about shone and it didn't rain on our bbq, the bunting fluttered and The Baby Brother blew out the candles on a fantastic cake made by his Big Sister. She baked some light as air victoria sponges in my Gram's lovely old cake tin, covered them with jam, wedged them together with oozing butter cream then decorated it with icing wrapped parcels.

He now toddles round, at that sweet stage where they are just getting their balance and list gently from side to side, grinning proudly as he wobbles over to his goal - usually something he shouldn't be playing with!

I've managed to get a few peaceful hours on the allotment, it might not look much but I've done loads of digging! There is a strange heap at the front of the plot where some manure was dropped off years ago. It is full of twine and strangely lumps of clay! My Little Helper was 'helping' with the digging last weekend and decided he would set up a shop selling the string and clay - bless! So if you need some'wild clay' or orange string at only 10p a piece you know who to ask!

I'm hoping to press on with clearing this heap over the weekend so I can plant my flower seeds and have a little cutting garden. Happily my strawberries have survived the winter and the onion sets are doing well. You can just see them on the left of this picture in front of the heap of carpet.

My Little Helper played football in his Beavers tournament, the team really enjoyed themselves, but not as much as Mr FK who was the coach cheering them on from the sidelines and encouraging them to watch the ball rather than chat to each other!

I've been enjoying the  365 project, taking a photo a day and haven't missed a day yet. It helps with noticing what goes on around me so I don't just get lost in the daily rush of packed lunches, errands, what's for tea and must get the washing on the line. I've discovered that I want a 50mm lens but can't fit one to my camera, so will just have to learn more about what I can do with it to get around the problem.

I have noticed that I tend to take pictures around my home and garden as I feel a bit embarrassed to be seen taking photos while out and about, I'm not sure why but taking a picture in the local park or at the shops seems to imply I'm an oddball - hmm could be some truth in that!

We are looking forward to the weekend as the Big Sister is in the thick of SATS this week, roll on the last one on Friday. Year 6 have spent weeks revising for them and the school seem to put an awful lot of pressure on 10 and 11 year olds. She went rock climbing with the Guides last week ( photo is on my phone, must learn how to get it off there!) I was so proud of her, whizzing up the wall to the very top. It was in a converted church and was really atmospheric. She's growing up so fast, stretching her wings and learning more about herself. In fact all three of them seem to be growing and learning so much this spring. Special days.xx 

Hot spots

I've been tackling some hot spots around the house, not really spring cleaning but freshening up! You know those corners where a couple of things get put and before you know it there's a whole clutter mountain developed. So gentle tidying, nothing too daunting - not like tackling the children's bedrooms!

The Big Sister helped by building this for me

So there's still shoes at the foot of the stairs but at least they are a bit tidier - a fiver well spent at Argos.

No not sitting in the sun reading CL, research for more spring freshening up ideas!  

All better!

The PC that is, it got a terrible virus and had to go away for a while.Amazing how many more hours there are every day when there's no internet!

 Easter holidays flew by with The Baby Brother taking his first few steps ( not that he's taken any more since!), a few days away enjoying the sun in the caravan, a family bowling tournament won by My Little Helper to his great delight and huge anticipation of the new Dr Who. I thought he did well, eccentric and energetic. The children have watched the first episode 5 times so far so I think they like it too.

We wandered round the park admiring the daffodils

The garden and greenhouse had a spring clean, so much more appealing that spring cleaning the house. But the house needs a good 'do' too as all this wonderful sunshine shows up the grubby corners!

I met a friend for lunch and enjoyed a good catch up and tasty food, The Baby Brother joined us and munched his way through a pile of rice while smiling and 'chatting' to everyone else in the place.

Our seeds are sprouting and the arrival of spring has lifted my spirits, as has a fancy new hair do. I've had the same style forever but now it has more shape and as most of my blonde highlights have gone I get a jolt each time I see myself in the mirror!

We also had a couple of visitors.....mice! Mr FK put some poison down under the settee where little fingers couldn't find it, but little paws did. I walked into the playroom to find The Baby Brother sitting next to...A DEAD MOUSE! Arrggh! After bathing him I sloshed disinfectant around and as I moved the settee....yes...there was another one! We have had them in the shed which I don't really mind, apart from when they chew the deckchairs, but I don't want them in the house.We've tried humane traps in the past, you know where you take a 10 mile car ride to release them far away, but found they ate the bait but didn't get trapped.

Hopefully they'll be enjoying the sunny warm weather and not feel the need to come inside.

Well I've a post or two (more like 400!) in bloglines to read, so I'll pop off now.....