Busy, Busy, Busy......

I have been getting on with my new Granny Square blanket as the little men are going to sleep at a reasonable time. I'm delighted with the way it is going & I have been able to do about 3 or 4 in an evening. I find it so relaxing to crochet away on these little beauties, I am going to do a wide crochet border once they are sewn together.


Rowan yarns are a delight to work with & I've been knitting with it for over 20 years. I used to knit a lot of jumpers & cardies designed by Annabel Fox but she seems to have stopped designing. I also really like Kim Hargreaves as her designs are easy to wear.

There used to be a wool shop in West Malling years ago that was owned by a fantastic Canadian lady called Dorothy who sold Rowan when it first came out and was hard to find. Mum & I used to visit nearly very Saturday & we became good friends. Looking back we must have spent a fortune as we very rarely came away empty handed !!

I have also being getting on with my Ripple blanket. I know that I have said this before but I am really pleased with how it is coming along. I'm trying to stick to these two projects so that I can get them fininshed.

My Garden Makeover : Before, During & After........

I thought I would share with you the transformation of my garden from a derelict site to, may I say it myself, a garden to be proud of. When we first moved in the garden was completely over grown with weeds & ivy, which we ripped out & put up the fence at the end.

My garden is the one thing that I am going to miss the most when I move. I designed it & choose the plants & have watched it mature over the last 4 years.

Before makeover Jun 2005

Cutting down the 250 ft Horse Chestnut tree Nov 2005

Going.....

Going.....

Going.....

Gone

It took nearly 3 weeks to cut the tree down. I hate to see any tree being felled but it was rotten on the inside & was unsafe, plus there was no sun light at all. It opened up the garden & we have the sun nearly all day now.

Now for the landscaping Jul 2006

Getting there Aug 2006

New turf & start planting shrubs Sept 2006

One month later

June 2008

April 2009

Unfinished Tapestries.......

Over the weekend I made a start of sorting & clearing things out. I can across my tapestries that must be at least 9 years old, which I had completely forgotten about.

Busy Week & Fun with Nanna.......

This week has been one of those weeks that you have so much on & not enough time to fit it all in.

The only quiet day was Wedensday when the little men & I had a day to recharge our batteries. I managed to see my friend Kate for coffee on Friday morning who I haven't caught up with for ages. I could only offer her instant coffee as the little men had recently broken my coffee pot "washing up". Later I took the little men to see my friend Jo & we ended up staying for tea, which was lovely. When we got back there was a present waiting for me on the doorstep.



How thoughtful & kind, I'm so lucky that I have such lovely friends. Thanks Kate you're a sweetie !!!


My mum came over today to see us. As you can see the little men love her very much, she's a great Nanna.



They decided to make the car into "a party car" I don't know if you can see the butterflies & snakes pushed into the front. Then they helped water the garden with Nanna but thought it much more fun to drench me instead.

Pedicure & A Lazy Day.......

After dropping the little men off at Nursery I had an appointment for a pedicure. What bliss to be pampered, I have never had one before & it was wonderful. I came out with a spring in my step thats for sure.I had to walk past one of my favorite houses in the village on the way so I took a sneaky photo.

I picked the little men up then we had a lazy afternoon snuggled up on the sofa watching Kung Fu Panda & Bugs Life. It's not often that we do this as we usually have got something on or friends coming for tea. We were all tired today so it was nice to just sit & chill out. I even managed to look at the mags I bought last week.

May Day Bank Holiday.......

We woke up to grey skies today, typical Bank Holiday weather!! Mum & I where going to take the little men to Winchelsea to have a walk along the beach but it was too cold. Instead we packed up sandwiches & went to Dunorlan Park for a walk & feed the ducks.


My Mum (Nanna) & the little men

My mum has been such a tower of strength to me & is always there if I need her. I was always taught to be independent having gone to boarding school & then leaving home to go to college & traveling around with different jobs but I knew that Mum & my Step Father, Richard, were always there for me in times of trouble. Sadly my Step Father passed away 2 weeks after I found out I was expecting twins, which was a dreadful loss as we were all very close, and he was a larger than life character.


The boys love going to Dunorlan, lots of space to run & play. After feeding the ducks & little man no.1 eating all of his stale bread we walked up to the cafe for hot chocolates to warm us up. When we left it was raining so we went back to the car to eat our sarnies.

Rippling Along Nicely......

Yes I have started my new ripple blanket. Seeing all the gorgeous colours waiting in a bag in the spare room begging to be started was too hard to resist. I'm loving how it's progressing & it seems to be flying off my crochet hook. I only started it 3 nights ago & already its nearly 24 inches long & I haven't used all the colours yet !! I am hoping to make it about 5 foot long so I can cuddle under it on the sofa with room to spare for the little men.





Cascade 220 is not as soft as Rowan Pure Wool but isn't rough either, the colours are amazing & is value for money at around £5.00 for a 220 yard skein.


Yesterday evening after the little man came back from their Daddy's we went to my friend's for a curry evening. Being on my own now I don't get many opportunities to have a take away curry so it was a real treat. The little people tucked into hot dogs & poppadoms with mango chuckney. It was a lovely evening & the food was yummy.

Mmmmm Malabrigo........

Anyone who has knitted with malabrigo will know how wonderfully soft & warm it is & the colours are amazing. I have a passion for it.

I love knitting scarves & hats with it, you only need 2 skeins for a long scarf & 1 skein for a hat. As you can see I have quite a large stash & I have 5 scarves on the go at the moment. If you have never knitted with Malabrigo give it a go, I bet you will be as hooked as I am.

My friend Jo recently asked if I would knit her a hat for her skiing holiday, luckly I had the perfect colour in my stash as she wanted pink to go with her ski jacket. She was over the moon with it & worn it every day.

The little men are out with their daddy today, & I have a list of jobs to do & hopefully some crochet. I hope everyone has a great bank holiday, bye for now xxx

May Day Dance......

Today the children at Nursery had a surprise for the parents.

We were told to come half an hour earlier than normal home time. When we arrived we were asked to sit in the garden, then out came the children with their May Day hats on. They all looked sooo sweet & some of them a little bit bemused. They were in 2 groups & took turns playing instruments & doing a May Day dance.






A lot of the parents had a tear in their eye, including me. After the dance we were invited into the classroom to see the pictures & projects that the children have been doing.



This term they are learning about transport & the fairy tales " The Elves & the Shoemaker" & "Jack & the Beanstalk" I loved the shoes the children had made & the Easter Egg Tree from last term

House For Sale.......

The "For Sale" sign went up outside our house yesterday. Seeing it go up brought a lot of mixed emotions, sadness, anger, nervousness, excitement and a sort of relief.

My ex partner & I bought the house nearly 6 years ago. It was our second step up the property ladder & we were very happy & excited to move to this village as it is such a lovely place to live & to bring up children. The house wasn't "our dream home" but it was a good solid family house & was a step nearer to where we wanted to end up ie. a pretty country cottage.

It is such a shame that those dreams are now broken, we where together for 10 years & I loved him very much. I am trying to turn a bad situation into a good one by thinking that it is another new chapter in my life & a fresh start. The main thing is I have my little men, they give me such joy ( & sometimes grief !!!! ) & we have a very close relationship.

Moving is not new to me, I have moved house 18 times in my life & lived in Canada for just over a year when I was 7. Even there my parents moved twice, Penticton & Kamloops which are in BC. My mum couldn't stand the cold winters so she & I came back I . My father still lives in Canada with my step mum & half brother & sister.

I hope I haven't been too depressing, & as the saying goes " what doesn't kill you makes you stronger".

Girlie Day in Rye......

Today the little men went out with their daddy, so I had a me day. I love my little men to bits but it's nice to have some time to myself & I think every parent needs it.

My friend Jo rang to see if I would like to go to Rye for the day so off we went. I love Rye, it's full of antique & junk shops & most of the buildings are very old with cobbled lanes.

Mermaid Street

The Mermaid Inn ( 15th Century )

Gate House ( & Jo )

I bought a lovely dressing table set, some silver teaspoons & tea towels. We stopped for lunch at a bar called Baileys & had char coaled chicken burgers ( very good ) & chips. I had a lovely day, the weather was sunny, great company ( I love Jo, she's a sweetie ), and nice shops.