* 28 *

Well here we are at the last day of the month already, time to show you my photos for the January Scavenger Hunt.

An Abandoned Building - this is the practice tower at the old fire station in town.

A Stained Glass Window - the main window in Sunderland Minster, gorgeous colours.

A Goldfish - I was in two minds whether or not to use this as the reflective surface entry as there is actually only one fish here .

Yarn - I have to say I didn't have too much trouble with this one !

Playground Equipment - I did show you some of my other choices but this was the one I settled with ( Hub chose it )

Library - These windows are in the childrens part of our library and are 100 years old.

A Tombstone Over 100 Years Old - I was lucky enough to have quite a few to choose from in this category but went with this one as I liked the ' lost at sea ' .

My Front Door - no explanation needed here I think.

A Reflective Surface - this was also one of the choices for playground equipment.

Now I better give you a warning about the next two and my apologies in advance if I cause any offence or if you have a delicate stomach. The first photo was actually taken last Summer whilst we were in our Town library 'childrens ' art room. At the time I had no idea this was there and Hub only noticed it last week when he was looking back through the boys photos. The second ' nature' is something that me and Gabe found on our beach walk last week .

Something Out Of Place .

Nature .

Bubbles .

I really enjoyed doing this and am looking forward to next month.

* 27 *

You know, I was going to try and do a post a day for January but on Thursday night after I got home from Stitch 'n' Bitch I was just so tired and aching plus when I really thought about it I didn't have anything to say ........ yep, I was totally stumped for words.

Hub went back to work today after having a week off. It was lovely having him home all week , it felt like we were a proper family . Oh I hate jobs with shifts , why can't everyone have the 9 til 5 jobs like my dad used to have when I was young?

So today I did all the little jobs I'd been putting off all week. I managed to do most of my homework last night so that was one that was already ticked off the list. I also managed to get the last of my photos for the Scavenger Hunt and finally take some pics of my January Bunty for the KAL on Ravelry.

She's supposed to be a snow queen / princess.

On the subject of Buntys don't forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't already back on post number 10 . Not long until the big draw .

Now I'm going to try and catch up with replying to e-mails and blog reading.

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend

* 26 *

It's raining, it's pouring,

The old man is snoring.

He went to bed and he bumped his head and he couldn't get up in the morning.

We love singing this little rhyme and it's been sung quite a few times today seeing as how it hasn't really stopped raining since roughly 8.45am.

But you know something, I really don't mind . Mother Nature is just giving the earth a good drink in preparation for all the green that is beginning to burst it's way skywards.

Speaking of green and things starting to grow you must pop across to this website as not only are the seeds very very reasonable but they are also giving away free seeds for schools.

I ordered these and they arrived just a couple of days later. I didn't know what was coming but I'm very impressed that they have a variety of tomato called Green Sausage !!

Guess who has been put in charge of planting all these little beauties .... looks like fun times ahead for me and all the kiddies . I was thinking of planting the seeds in used toilet rolls so they could easily be put straight into the ground or rolled up newspaper thingys . Has anyone got any other suggestions that would make easy handling for four year old fingers?

* 25 *

Knowing that I only have 6 days left to get the rest of my photos for the Scavenger Hunt I took Gabe off to town to see what I could get.

First stop was Sunderland Minster.

I got the ' stained glass window ' and also another option for the tombstone . There was so many to choose from.

Alice is from 1820.

This one who I think is called John is from 1802

and this last one is 1716.

I didn't choose any of these.

Oh and thanks to Anna I now know there is a Flickr group too .

* 24 *

Just a quick post today as it 8.10pm, the boys are tucked up in bed, my tea is nearly cooked and then we're going to settle down and watch Avatar with a few cheeky glasses of Rose.

Remember the other day I said I took some photos in the park and couldn't decide which one to use for the Scavenger Hunt playground shot. These are the ones I didn't choose.

I went for colour - can you tell.

* 23 *

Today is Hubs birthday --- Happy Birthday Babes , we all love you X

* 22 *

This morning Milo was invited to a friends birthday party at the local ( ish ) Funshack . So he was dropped off bright and early at 10.15am. The party was to start at 10.30am and finish at 12.30pm . It wasn't really worth driving back home again so me and Gabe decided to go for a walk along the beach which was quite close by.

The weather wasn't very nice to say the least, it was cold , grey and very very drizzly. Just thought I'd mention that these photos were taken in colour and not black and white . Can you see the white house in the distance ? Well that's where we were headed for.

On the way we stopped - several hundred times- to look for treasures.

There was lots and lots of sea glass but we only brought home home a couple of bits . I did find another treasure of sorts which I'm going to use as my Nature entry in the Scavenger hunt. Although you won't be able to see it until the end of the month and some of you might not class it as a treasure! So that's five items I've got checked off now.

The landscape looked like something from times long long ago , quite eerie with the fog rolling in.

By the time we got to the end of the beach we were rather peckish so we had no choice but to stop off for a little snack .

A rather expensive little snack I might add, but worth it for the smiles.

Then back off along the beach to the car and off to get Milo.

We did spot this broken lobster pot all tangled up with rope on the way back , it reminded me of the lovely things that Kirsty makes using beach finds . One bit of colour brightening up an otherwise grey beach.

* 21 *

1) A quick update on my visit to the Drs on Wednesday. I was given my first set of tablets and was told I have to take one every day and as they are ' natural' there shouldn't be any side effects. In three months I'll have to go back for another blood test to see if the dosage needs altering. It might take a while for things to start kicking in and for me to feel better but it will be worth it in the end.

2) I've been thinking about my Etsy shop and was wondering what might be good sellers apart from patterns and finished bunnies? I'd like to try and expand but am not quite sure what direction to go in or if I should even expand at all? What do you think ?

* 20 *

So, today 3.15pm , Gabe and I set off to pick Milo up from school as we usually do. Just about to enter the school gates and duh......... remembered Milo is at one of his after school clubs until 4.30pm.

So what to do for about an hour , a big long walk around the block taking in the park would just about do it .

The ground is still all frosty and frozen , it has been all day . Doesn't stop Gabe running about like a maniac though and there were still a few photo opportunities.

Sometimes it looks as though there isn't anything worth photographing but if you look closely there is always something. Take these feathery grass stems or this dead Salvia ( I think that's what it is anyway ).

And oh joy of joys look what I found hiding away on an old tree stump..

A little toadstool village - perfect.