* 85 *

So, chocolate cakes aside and the fact that she also ate a potato, an eraser and a crayon this morning I'm going to show you what's making me happy today despite all the rain outside.

Smiley knees....

and a bunny called Mariette which I've just finished.

There is a third thing which arrived in the post this morning which has had me beaming for most of the day but I'm going to leave that for later.

What's making you smile today?

* 84 *

I was going to tell you all about Gabe's sports day and to tell you how pleased I was this morning when I finally managed to get something that I've been waiting three years for .

I was also going to thank you all for the lovely birthday wishes for the boys and tell you how much I appreciate them but I've kind of got sidetracked .

In fact I've gotten a lot sidetracked and it's all to do with a nearly 6 month old young lady who's made me really , really cross.

Can you see the cake cover on the floor and the cooling tray along with a load of brown crumbs ? Well this was the result of a hard afternoons baking .... 40 chocolate cakes sitting on the side cooling down.......... All now inside a certain pups tummy !!!!

* 83 *

Today we are celebrating Gabe's birthday ... four years old bless him.

I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing that the boys birthdays are so close together as it sometimes seems like Gabe's is second best especially when it falls on a school day .

Birthday Eve jamas with Moo - riel the cow.

The yearly measure always done by pops . We always thought Gabe was way taller than Milo but it turns out at age 4 they are exactly the same size - spooky.

After school it's time to play on the new Spiderman scooter.

Then just a little birthday tea with a Toy story cake.

Happy birthday Baby ..... love you xx

* 82 *

Today my big lad was seven ... wow seven already where did the time go ??

We started the day with the yearly measuring he's now 3ft 11.5 " so has grown 2.5" in a year.

Then onto his one request which was for a fried breakfast like he had when we were in Ibiza. ( It was mostly grilled I might add )

Next we went bowling taking his older cousin with us

and then to Frankie and Benny's for burger and chips.

Back home to birthday cake a la Yoda .

Oh and I nearly forgot we also had the ritual of Birthday Eve jamas and toy. A very very quickly made Dilbert from the pattern by Melly and Me .

Happy Birthday Milo , love you xx

* 81 *

One think I'd really like to do is take decent black and white photos of everyday people.Nearly every day I see interesting people and would love to take their photo's but getting up the nerve to ask them if I can take a snap is another matter.

I think black and whites gives more character in lots of cases , not all but most.

The pictures I'm showing you here have mostly been taken on the sly , putting one of the boys there and pretending to shoot them when really you're taking the person at the side or behind.

I'm not sure what or if there are any laws in taking them sneakily and I do think how I would feel if it was me on the other side of the camera .

I do like this one of the man with the wheelie bin and I don't think I would be doing anything wrong by showing the mans back .

The other thing about sneaky photo taking is you sometimes get shots like the one below.!!

Maybe I'll pluck up the courage and actually ask someone if I could take their photo ... hmmmm.

I have to say that one person who's style I really admire is the Sartorialist .... amazing blog with amazing photo's.

* 80 *

You know, one thing that I'm guilty of and I hold my hands up to it is when I purchase something from Etsy or from a fellow Blogger I always forget to post about it . I always have good intentions but then my time goes by and my sieve memory forgets.

So my apologies to anyone out there who falls into this category.

Now one person who I've bought some things from , not just as a treat for myself but also as presents for other people is Beth from The Linen Cat.

The first thing I bought was the big red bird above , that was last Christmas and it still smells of lavender . When it arrived I went straight back to her shop and bought some gold ones for my mam and the MIL as part of their Christmas present.

Everything always comes beautifully wrapped in the most glorious green colour with perfect little beaded tags . An idea which I might just have to copy sometime, the tags that is.

So when I got stuck for an idea for teachers thank you presents I went straight back to Beth for more birds . She doesn't have any of the red or grey ones left but there are some gorgeous blue and pink ones which are definately worth a look.

This talented lady doesn't just make birds though, oh no .... she also makes linen cats ( hence the name) bunnies, tweed bunny purses ( which might be my treat to myself next Christmas) felt flower brooches, cashmere bears and something which I've bought for Milo's birthday -- a monster purse . Now how cute is this please with its zip mouth and little clasp just perfect for hooking onto belt loops?

Go on , pop across and say Hi . You won't be disappointed.

I'd also like to say quick thank you to Kirsty from Sixty One A . Milo had some homework to do writing all about the seaside and we used her jellyfish design as part of that . He did nearly all this by himself and got 5/5 for content and effort .

* 79 *

Here are my June efforts for the Scavenger Hunt, I hold up my hand though and do confess that a couple were taken today - oops.

Something with your town name on it .... and old plaque at the Aircraft Museum.

An Elephant ..... hopefully three elephants will be okay but if not there is one on the architectural photo too.

A wheel trim .....

Architectural detail ..... This building is the old Elephant Tea Rooms which was built between 1873 and 1877.

Cheese ....

Night ..... taken approx 10pm on the Summer Solstice.

Tree branches ..... I think this has to be one of my favourite photos that I have ever taken.

Cutlery ....

A Childhood Memory ...... the bridge at Barnard Castle ..

Farm animals ....

Something beginning with Z .... Zig Zags ??

The view right outside your door ..... taken last night .