Tuesday 23 February 2010

23rd February 2010

So, that's the half term holidays over , to be honest it was hard work finding things for the boys to do without them fighting and arguing over everything .. especially with the weather being the way it was .



On Sunday even though it was freezing and the ground was frozen solid I took the boys for a walk to the woods where I went for my birthday.
We took bread for the swans but the gulls were just swooping in all over the place , the swans did manage to get some though.



I always think they look so graceful don't they ?



There was a tiny amount of snow but it was mainly ice.



Great fun was had smashing the ice in the puddles with sticks .



Whilst I just admired the scenery and listened to the birds singing and flitting amongst the branches.



Then instead of smashing the ice with sticks Gabe decided to jump on top of the ice to break it .... I was mid NOOOOOOOOO, but too late



He had to choose to jump on a deep puddle didn't he .... it took both hands to pull the wellies out as they were firmly stuck ....... and it didn't help that I was laughing so much it hurt at the fact I couldn't get them out .
Gabe wasn't amused ..... didn't stop him doing it again just five minutes later though did it !!



Saturday 20 February 2010

20th February 2010

Last week I was lucky enough to get an invite to go and have a look as to how the work was progressing in my park. How could I refuse . So on Thursday off I went , feeling like a child in a sweet shop..... excitement buzzing off me.

I've tried to find before and after pictures to show you.

Before : The entrance to the park, the tree stump you can see second on the right is the only stump left.



After : It is now being carved into a giant totem pole.



Before : None of this is there any longer,



After : It is where the new toilet block / changing rooms are being built.



Before : One of the paths down to the duck pond with the bridge just at the bottom.



After : All the paths have been dug up , fences have gone as has most of the shrubs and greenery and a load of big rocks have been placed.



Before : The bridge



After : Where the bridge used to be.



Before : Looking across to the steps , with two benches , on the right hand side of the pond .



Looking up the right hand side of the duck pond with the backs of the two benches and the big green blob of Weeping Willow is the island in the middle of the pond.



After : You can still see the steps on the right but all the shrubs , rose bushes and trees have gone and the big green blob has drastically reduced in size.



Before : Looking up the left hand side of the pond.



After : The trees on the right hand side have been thinned out a lot , you can just say see the island minus the weeping willows in the middle of the picture and the bare bank on the right.



We didn't get to see any further than this but there are more pictures of what is going to be the Woodland Park and the Sensory Garden on my other Blog or you can click on the picture on the right .

I could see that Milo's funny tree ( or Weeping Cedar as I found out it was called ) is still there and will be staying although all the trees behind it have gone.



And this lovely specimen of Giant Redwood is staying also ,



From what I saw some bits are definately an improvement like the Sensory Garden which has been built where there used to be old overgrown tennis courts. Some other bits though I will have to reserve judgement until I see more. Apparantly all the building work has not affected the wildlife , the squirrels , jays and woodpeckers are still there as are the family of sparrowhawks which I am very pleased about . The guy who showed us around summed it up quite nicely when he said " with all the wildlife that is here you would have never have thought you were in a suburban park, it's more like being in the countryside". Fingers crossed it still will be when they have finished.

Tuesday 16 February 2010

16th February 2010

This is a really hard post to write , I know what I want to say but just can't get the right words.....

I wanted to tell you a little bit about my friend who passed away recently. He worked as a sound engineer and worked for the BBC on programmes like Wire in the Blood. He also travelled to Uganda to film for Comic Relief with Lenny Henry. It was while working for the BBC in Bangladesh that he died leaving behind two young children aged 8 and 6. He really was such a lovely kind man who I never heard say a bad word about anyone.

A charity has been set up in his name and I wanted to do something to help, so with the kind permission of the lovely Julie from Little Cotton Rabbits I've made some bunny egg cosies and have put them up for sale in my shop . All proceeds from these will be donated to his charity fund.








( pink/green bunny cosy now sold - thank you )

If you would like to purchase any of these just click on the Etsy link on the right hand side or if you would like one but in a different colour just drop me a line .

edit .. $16 is approximately £10

Thank you .

Friday 12 February 2010

12th February 2010

Hi guys, me again........ so how are you all, doing fine and looking forward to the weekend I bet ?

I was going to show you pics of my cake as it's Friday Cake Bake but there was a slight mis-hap.

Whilst checking to see if the chocolate brownies were cooked my finger went through the crispy top coating and into the cake below, said finger started to burn from the sticky uncooked mixture . I immediately shook my hand to get the mixture off but it flew into the air and landed on my lip ,,,,, the lip which is now sporting a very unslightly blister about the size of a penny and is very painful!!!
The brownies never did cook properly and ended up in the bin..

So how do you fancy seeing what I made last month instead , knitting wise that is?

A set for a boy.





And a set for a girl.





Now before the cogs start whirring , the answer is NO I'm not , chuckle. I just fancied doing something different . I don't actually have any plans for these so I'll probably put them in my shop. What do you think?

Thursday 4 February 2010

4th February 2010

Just to let everyone know that somehow I had a virus on my blog which apparantly " piggy backed " onto a 3rd party gadget - possibly the snowfall .

This gadget has now been removed and all scans run and everything is fine - so you might want to check your computers just in case.

I have heard that it has happened on quite a few other blogs too .

My apologies.

Wednesday 3 February 2010

3rd February 2010

So far 2010 is turning out to be a pretty awful year -- just found out a friend of mine has passed away.

R.I.P Tommy .... so many music memories.



Have decided against doing a post a day this month, I'm sorry but my heart is just not in it at the moment ............. see you soon.

Tuesday 2 February 2010

2nd February 2010

I just thought I'd join in with the " things I'm loving right now " blog posts that I've seen popping up everywhere.



these fabrics are gorgeous , you can't go wrong with a bit of red and white.


( image from http://vintageheaven.blogspot.com )

I love these cupboards built into the alcoves, we have the perfect alcove for one just like this but hub doesn't like them !!



Our bedroom is in desperate need of a makeover but this lovely bedding set would just not go with our lilac shagpile ............ shudder.



How great is this for Valentines day - instructions on how to make it are here.



Doilies sewn onto a lampshade ...



Maybe if I put both boys in the same room then I can have Gabes room for all my crafty things -- ooh, now there's a thought.

These might be things I'm loving but what I'm looking for are vintage keys and thimbles and some sticks of cotton .







Any ideas apart from Etsy and Ebay?

I've totally lost my list of where these pics came from so if they are yours please let me know and I'll add the credit... I'm a numpty sometimes ..

Monday 1 February 2010

1st February 2010

A list of things planned for February..

1) Sew .... that would have started today but , the ball of yarn that I have been waiting for arrived this morning and it will only take a couple of days to finish off that project.
2) Abstain from any chocolate or Lucozade ( very sugary fizzy energy drink ) for one month .... so far so good
3) Sow my Sweet Pea seeds and tidy up the garden .... if the snow lets me.
4) Try to eat breakfast .... had a slice of toast this morning. What do you have for breakfast?
5) Exercise more .... we'll see.
6) Remember to empy memory stick on camera so you have new photos to put on your daily post!!



( picture taken 21st March 2009 )

They'll be here again soon ................