The end of April, the beginning of May

April has felt like a long month! I've got lots of new and cheery things done.

Most importantly, it was my birthday :) We had a very soggy day out! I got some new audio books, which I love listening to when I'm driving, or walking somewhere uninspiring, or sewing. Peter also got me a pink and blue sparkly hula hoop! Far from being the expert I remember being when I was 11, I actually can't keep it round my waist for more than 3 seconds... But I'll keep trying, we've had so much fun with it! 

I got a lovely parcel in the post today, a birthday present from my auntie :) She sent these gorgeous fabrics from her stash.

I've dropped my camera and broken something, so they all look orange, but there's actually loads of different colours! I've been having fun thinking of all the things I can make with them. 

She also sent these balls of pure cotton yarn.

I'd been talking about knitting dish cloths, and looking out for cotton, and she found these, so now I can have a go. Hooray! 

Other than being my birthday, April has been busy. I've done a bit of sewing and knitting, and I've made all the birthday presents for people this month! I've had a go at making cheese and yogurt. I've made a fair few lovely cakes, and also another batch of soap using coconut oil this time. I've used the face scrub I made all month. 

In the garden, I've planted herbs, and my mum helped for a weekend clearing and brushing and generally sprucing up. Peter built us a compost bin! We've seen a frog in the garden, a mouse, a squirrel, and plenty of birds. My broad beans are doing well, and some of the inside plants are nearly ready to plant outside. 

In the house, spring cleaning and sorting has continued - I've cleared my desk area in the attic, as well as the sewing area (which I forgot to post pictures of, I'll do that this week). All my material is now organised - it's so much easier to do a small project when you can see what there is to use! And most importantly, we now have a shower!! This has been a lengthy and complicated process taking several years, and you just can't imagine how excited I was when I had the first shower this week! 

I haven't quite stuck to my budget this month... I stopped writing things down several times, so I don't have an accurate record, sadly. But I think I only went about £30 over. I'll do better next month. 

I've written another couple of PhD chapters, and have managed to stay cheery about it for most of the month, which is very unusual! I can see the end, it just doesn't seem to be getting any closer...

I've got lots planned for May! I'll be planting more things out in the garden, and spending more time sitting out there in the sunshine. 

I bought this fabulous quilt cover last week, and I'll be attempting to make it into a full length, full circle skirt :)

I've got a few other little sewing and knitting projects on the go, including dish cloths. In the house I want to carry on pottering and sorting and tidying. PhD wise, I'm aiming to write the last couple of chapters this month, and then make a start rewriting from the beginning all over again...

Other than the PhD, which has to be the main priority this month, I'm going to focus on the budget. I'm going to rejig our phone bills to save us some money, and get us our long awaited council tax discount. I promise here to stick to my budget all month! :)