back home

Goodness me, that was a lovely long break!

We've spent the last couple of weeks staying with the lovely Fay and had such a marvellous time that I never wanted it to end. Do you think she would have noticed if we'd have sneakily moved into her house, hiding amongst the chickens and the flowers? We could have been very quiet...

Anyway, we weren't quick enough, so we had to come home (after being housebound by some very rickety gales indeed). And it appears the tomato elves have been very busy while we've been away, turning a whole little pile of tomatoes red for us - how delightful! And there was me expecting the garden to wither and die every time I turn my back - seems it does rather better when I'm not here interfering...

So September (September!) means back to work, which I'd best do in a second. And a whole raft of projects and exciting things to do. I'll be back later with some lovely holiday photos for you to see.

sneaking up early (and hula hoops)

Would you just have a look at this adorable Viennese butter kiss I had at the Women's Institute yesterday morning! So tiny, and so perfect. That wrapper! Just when you start to think the WI is all jam and sturdy fruit cake, they pop something like this in to surprise you.

(although on the whole I do prefer a piece of sturdy fruit cake myself).

Anyway, that wasn't what I came here to tell you. I came here to talk about getting up before everyone else gets up.

Because that's what I've just done.

As it happens, there's only one other person here to get up before - and I do often get up before him, because I work a long way away, and he often works in the evenings rather than the mornings. But that's everyday getting up before someone.

This is sneaking out of bed trying not to wake them up.

I have no idea why it felt like that this morning, but it did, and I like it. I like that feeling of slipping downstairs, trying not to make the floorboards squeak (utterly impossible in this house, I tell you), looking around at the mess of camping equipment and wondering if you can tidy it before he wakes up, trying to catch the boiling kettle before it starts whistling tooooo excitedly, and then drinking tea and sifting through yesterday's photographs, remembering that I actually sneaked in a little fun project while he was having a nap yesterday afternoon.

(I should point out that obviously I do fun things when Peter is awake too, but there's something quite exciting about a furtive bit of sloping round with the house to yourself, not entirely sure when you're going to be disturbed).

So, shall I show you what I did yesterday?

First of all, I opened ALL the curtains and windows, so I could see and hear the rain.

Then I put Pride and Prejudice on the tv.

Then I pulled out the two bits of plumbing pipe I bought the day before and made a collapsible hula hoop.

Yep, that's right. I LOVE hula hoops. We have one hanging in our shower. But that one's a little bit too small for proper hula hooping.

I've got a friend with a HUGE hoop, it's so lovely to twirl round in, but there's just nowhere to put it round here, and it won't fit in the car for camping trips (if we ever manage to get on any, that is).

So I wanted to make a collapsible one.

I think the guy in the plumbing shop was a little bemused, but he played along gamely, even when his mate came into the shop while he was trying to bend the pipe round his waist.

The two blokes in the hardware shop took my requests all in their stride - they're used to me ambling in saying 'have you got any magnets? I'm trying to attach them to cardboard fish' and the like, so this was perfectly ordinary.

So - one length of waste pipe (cut in half), two easy (well, reasonably easy) quick-connector things, one roll of black electrical tape, and one roll of jaffa tape (*love it*) later, and I'm all set - for the princely sum of £8.

Have you got any idea how difficult it is to photograph a hula hoop?

Or how many dusty mirrors I have in my living room? (a lot, it appears).

(obviously it's entirely necessary to keep one's wellies on while making hula hoops - just in case)

So - by the end of Pride and Prejudice, and the end of the roll of jaffa tape, and the end of Peter's afternoon nap, I had myself a nifty tiger-striped hula hoop.

That just about twirls round in the living room, as long as there's nobody else in there too.

I wonder what little mini adventure I can get up to this afternoon while he's asleep??

Speaking of which, I should probably wake him up with a cuppa in a minute - we're off to our current favourite little cafe for breakfast treats and he won't want to miss that...

You up to anything exciting today?

weekend adventures (and more spring cleaning)

Another weekend of fun and frivolity here. I do love the summer, altogether more sociable somehow than the other seasons.

Anyway, I've been trotting about all over the place! Hopped on a train for a mini adventure on Friday night to see the lovely Fay, who was only an hour or two up the road rather than the usual 13 hours away. Couldn't miss an opportunity like that! And I do love train adventures, especially ones to new places, that involve meeting some new people too. Altogether a jolly evening!

Then up early on Saturday morning to take part in the local park run - didn't take photos (too busy puffing and panting), but this is going to become rather a regular Saturday morning feature I think. I had a lovely time galumphing along at the back with an extremely cheery fella getting fit again after a triple heart bypass (yep, that's how slowly I was going). Anyway, he was very jolly, clapping everyone who went past us (which was, er, everyone), and also very chivalrous, and let me go before him through the finish funnel, so I wasn't *quite* last, which makes a nice change...

Then off to the WI (of course - can't let running get in the way of cake eating!)

And then a wedding! Busy as bees here!

So, after the wedding we sloped off for a little sneaky duck feeding...

There really is something Extremely Jolly about feeding ducks, I find. Their little beady eyes, their little legs waddling over when they detect the slight rustle of a paper bag, the gentle little quacking noises...

We finished off Saturday with the most glorious buffet, and a whole load of dancing (and then a nice cup of tea, of course).

Today has been rather more sedate - one of those days when I wake up slightly grumpity and petulant and decide that EVERYWHERE is a Complete Tip, and despite it not having bothered me for days and days, declare that Something Must Be Done - right now.

You know, one of those days.

Peter, fortunately, had a pre-arranged musical project happening downstairs, which pretty much restricted my flurry of activity to the attic so my banging and crashing and cursing didn't disturb the creativity in the kitchen.

The attic has several purposes in this house. I work at home several days a week, so my desk is up here, and the printer. It also houses all my sewing related paraphernalia, and assorted things-that-don't-live-anywhere-else. And it houses the spare bed.

So... I started by pinning up these ludicrously ancient and daft curtains that we found in a house that a friend bought (she declared she couldn't live with them, and I squirrelled them away with some vague plan for a skirt - which fortunately never happened). Bravo! A place to hide things - point 1 on the list of vital things for tidying up.

The shelves are looking a whole lot better too.

Of course, there's still several miscellaneous bags and boxes of things-that-need-to-find-a-new-home, but we're down to 2, rather than 8 or 9.

And you might notice that you can't see much of the floor in these pictures...

I also discovered just how much stationery I own.

A lot.

I had planned a little bit of sewing, which never *quite* happened. Maybe next week...

But I've had a lovely pottering day sorting things out, tearing things up, stashing things behind curtains, and I'm actually looking forward to spending the day up there tomorrow.

Hooray for spring cleaning whims I say!

balance

I took this photo while walking in the local park early on Sunday evening. I do so love it there. The sunsets at this time of year are spectacular, and the view is incredible. I'm always ever so thankful that I live so close to somewhere so beautiful, and I try to walk there whenever I can, it's a lovely end to the day.

I was there on Sunday with a friend and her dog, just walking and chatting, and reminding myself of the need for balance. A nasty cold, lots of things to do, the looming end of PhD (again), and the lack of my little working space were all getting a little overwhelming. The kind of overwhelming that makes you stomp your feet and shout 'bah!' (try it, it makes things a little better!)

Yesterday our temporary guest moved on. I've so many mixed feelings around his stay. I'm ever so glad that we have the space, and the ability to help a friend in need, and he's such a lovely man he's a pleasure to have around. But I really didn't realise how much I relied on having my own space, and how much I missed just being able to pop up there and *sew*.

So today will be a day of balance. There's writing to be done, yes, and lots of it. But there's also a little bit of reclaiming my attic - I might even move a bit of furniture! Not that there's much furniture up there, or really anywhere to move it to, but we'll see. It might involve a bit of decluttering. It will certainly involve a bit of cleaning. I might even treat myself to some flowers, or I might pick rocket and fuschia from the garden.

I've got some time this evening too, so that might involve waving a duster around the house, and settling into the attic for some sewing. Sewing! Oh, how I've missed it. I don't even have anything in particular in mind, it's just so nice to sit and stare at those untidy (ahem) piles of fabric and start putting them together.

Watch this space and see what I end up with!

jolly times

Would you just look at all those colourful whirly lollipops! Just the thing for a mildly grumpity out-of-sorts day, don't you think?

I've been off swanning around London this week, something I don't do too often, but which I do enjoy very much indeed. Meeting friends (and a new baby!), wandering along the river, an afternoon in the British Museum, and lunch in a crypt, no less! Oh, and a bit of work too, almost forgot about that...

I'm back now though, and busy attending to the ordinary everyday stuff again. I'm experimenting with getting up early to start writing - oh how I do love those early mornings with the sun streaming into the kitchen!

We've got a friend staying with us at the minute, which means I've lost my little attic refuge/ work room/ sewing space for the foreseeable future. I spend a lot of time up there, and very much value having a bit of my own space. So, things have had to be shuffled around a bit.

So, here's the temporary solution, a little corner of the bedroom for me to work in for the time being.

It's not *quite* as cheery as the attic, and I get shoed downstairs at regular intervals so normal bedroom activities (dressing, sleeping, afternoon-napping) can be carried out in peace, but I'm warming to it, especially the rocking chair by the window. In fact, I'm warming to it so much that I might not want to go back up to the attic later...

Anyway, spurred on by the excitement of creating this cheery little space, I decided to tackle another little DIY job that's been bugging me for months. You know the ones, that shouldn't take more than an hour, but one thing leads to another, and another, and before you know it you're wallpapering the entire living room and replacing the windows. It's not *quite* that bad, but not far off.

Another cup of tea first, I think...

A walk, and a bit of a tidy up

A good clear out of the linen cupboard, and a hoover down the back of the bed... (might see if I can get a photo without the twisted bead curtain once it gets light tomorrow). The bed is a mezzanine floor, what used to be the floor of a room. I love it that the bed is all that's up there, looking out onto the skylight. Mind you, I did have to strike a rather dashing and dangerous pose to get this photo...

And a nice walk in the park round the corner...

Last week wasn't all bad, although I'm spending far too much time screen-staring, and not enough sewing... And this week there's going to be a lot of work. More writing, of course. And my boss at my part time job will be getting married next weekend! So I'm doing a fair few hours helping her out this week running about, picking things up, dropping things off...

I was thinking about trawling the charity shops for a new outfit for the wedding, but I'm just not sure I'll have time this week, so I might just have to do with what I've got. I reckon the polka dot skirt I made wouldn't be too bad, with some rather fab red velvet shoes. Might mean a teeny, tiny bit of sewing though, just a small draw string bag to hold a few things... :)

I haven't decided if they'll be getting a present yet. They've asked for money towards their honeymoon and holidays next year, but it does feel rather peculiar to be donating money to my own boss, so I don't think that will happen. And I'm doing well with my hand made presents pledge this year, so I don't really want to break it just for this. However, they've been living together for 12 years, so don't really need anything new. Maybe I'll think of a small thing to make, or perhaps just make a nice card. Any suggestions for something small, and fairly easy to make in this hectic week??