In bloom

 Sorry for the unexpected mini break. I didn't mean to be away quite so long. We had a lovely weekend. Saturday was spent catching up with old friends in London. It had been a while since I'd headed into the City. Having lived there for so long I had a bit of an anti-London thing going on for a while. I think I'm over that though now and am longing for another visit. We're actually so close, just half an hour on the train but with two little ones in tow it's not always so easy. In fact on Saturday we didn't go right to the centre but to West Hampstead. It was still lovely to feel that different buzzy atmosphere you get in London. My friend who was hosting the get together lives in a lovely flat down a pretty leafy street. She has no kids of her own but was brave enough to welcome 10 children ranging from 3 months to 7 years, plus 11 adults! It was such great fun and so good to all be together again. I've missed a few meet-ups recently due to baby producing but I hope to see them more often in future. 

Sunday was a chilly day but after the usual delicious roast cooked by lovely S we decided we all needed some fresh air. We're very lucky to have a beautiful park just a few minutes drive away. It is actually walkable but it's down a very steep hill and the walk back is hard work with a pram in tow. So we naughtily took the car and walked lots when we got there. The park eventually joins up with National Trust land so it's possible to walk for miles. 

The park is particularly lovely at the moment as all the daffodils are out. They look really stunning. 

There's also a great playground so little F had fun on the swings and slides watched with amusement and longing by Little H. 

 

Something that's been occupying me a lot at the moment is the garden. 

 

My father-in-law came over with his jet wash to clean the patio and I've been re-arranging pots. Just need to get them filled now!

There's still not a lot of colour but we're really winning the war on all the weeds so it's all looking very neat and tidy. But there is one area that is starting to look pretty and colourful. There were already dafs here and a pale pink primula so I decided to turn it into a little Spring area. My Mum bought me another deeper primula and some cowslips last week and I've moved some forget-me-knots that I found in the soon to be veg plot. 

I'm pleased with how it's looking so far but plan to have a lot more in here next Spring.

 

Throughout the rest of the garden there are definitely signs of life. The roses we were bought by my in-laws for Christmas from David Austin at starting to come into leaf and grow. I'm hoping for a splash of colour with these. Bit by bit we'll get there. It's a slow process this gardening lark(unless you've got pots of money to throw at it!) but I'm loving starting to see the small changes every day.

There's been a little bit of sewing going on lately in odd spare moments so hopefully I'll be back again soon to share that with you.

Have a lovely week.

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The last day of the holidays

It's been a funny Easter holiday. Hoping so much for lots of sunshine and warmth to get out into the garden and out and about. But instead getting quite a bit of rain and a LOT of cold!

We did have Little H's Christening which was a lovely family occasion, and the sun shone weakly. He was a very good boy and only cried for a moment or two when his Great Aunty splashed his head with water.(Lovely S's Aunty is a Vicar so was supposed to be splashing him with water!) 

We had a couple of afternoons pottering in the garden and started to do a good bit of clearing and planning but it was sooooo cold and not the most fun in the World. 

So yesterday, with the promise of higher temperatures and a little more sun in the forecast we decided that we had to get one great fun day out of the holidays so headed off to lovely Dorset, one of our favourite places in the World. Luckily it was a great deal warmer than of late but unfortunately the sun only peeped out for a few short spells. Still, it was lovely to be out and about in the fresh air. We walked along the sea front at Swanage then hopped on a steam train to Corfe Castle. I did take photos but due to the lack of sun they really do look a little drab. The ride on the train had been a much looked forward to treat as little F is a huge Thomas fan but it nearly turned into a disaster as the sight of the huge engine coming into the platform was rather too scary for him. Luckily we managed to calm him down and once the train got going all was well and he loved it.

We had a lovely potter around the village of Corfe Castle and ate yummy pasties while being rained on for just a moment or two! Then it was back on the train to Swanage and into the car again to drive up to the lovely village of Worth Matravers. We normally camp just a mile or two from this pretty village so it's one of our favourite spots. We had a little drink in a favourite pub which has stunning sea views then wandered down the village green which was looking lovely despite the dullness of the day. Don't you just love the red phone box and the cute duck house. There was no sign of the ducks so either they were tucked away inside or have gone away to nest elsewhere. 

At the bottom of the green just behind the phone box there is a sweet little memorial garden that was bursting with spring colour. I couldn't stop snapping away at the pretty things that gave me hope the Spring is just about here. 

Finally we headed back to Swanage and went for the obligatory fish and chips. Unfortunately by this time it really was rather chilly so we sat on one of the little tables inside the chippy to eat, although still out of the paper of course. Poor Little H sat in his buggy looking longingly at the three of us tucking into our yummy fish and chips. I can't believe he will be five months at the end of this week and I think the time has nearly come to try some solids as he constantly looks longingly at what we're eating!

Finally it was back into the car for the ride back home. Little H was a little unsettled so in order to save Lovely S's sanity by not having to drive with a screaming child in the back, I squeezed in the middle at the back between my two lovely boys. It wasn't long before the sea air worked it's magic and I had two sleepy heads either side of me. 

So with the holidays behind us I'm feeling refreshed and ready to get back into our normal routine. Often I feel a little down when Lovely S goes back to work after the holidays but with the promise of Spring and Summer I don't feel so bad. I don't mind admitting that these last few months did at times make me feel very down in the dumps. Terrible winters and new babies do not mix well! But as I sit here now, I have windows and the back door thrown open and I can hear birds singing. I've had a row of washing on the line this morning and without getting boring on the subject(or getting into too much yucky detail) it has done wonders for all the baby washing. Washing dried on the line smells so wonderful don't you think?

Hope the Spring has arrived where you are. 

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Loving Autumn

While I do miss the end of the Summer days, I do also truly love Autumn. I think if I'm honest it is my favourite time of year.

I love the beautiful colours and where we live we really do get to see a lot of those colours. We're in the heart of the Chilterns and although we're on the edge of a town, we can be in stunning beech woods within a few minutes walk, or more stunning countryside just a short drive away. There is something particularly beautiful about beech in Autumn. They really do turn the most vibrant orange colour. At the moment there is still a fair bit of green mixed in but this just seems to add to the beauty of the orange shades. 

I can't admit to taking these lovely photos as they were taken by lovely S on Saturday. He and little F went for their first proper Father and Son adventure leaving me to 5 hours of peace with my sewing machine. Most Saturdays since the beginning of this year have been christened 'Daddy Day' as they always go out together in the morning to have a bit of time together and to give Mummy a bit of peace, something I've really especially appreciated while pregnant. Usually they end up in town and often meet Nanny and Grandad for coffee. But last week S announced that they were going for a walk and taking a picnic. They did a walk that S did as a child which we've been meaning to do. Part of it involves going to the top of a lovely hill, part of it is through beautiful beech woods and part takes you round land on the 'Chequers' estate. You can see the house in the picture above. Not sure if the PM was in or not! Little F absolutely loved it and came back covered in mud with tales of all the things they'd seen as well as a big stick he'd collected and some dandelions for Mummy. It's definitely a walk I'm looking forward to doing once I'm more mobile again. 

The other thing that I love about Autumn is that it is the start of snuggly cosy season. It's a time for lighting candles in the evening and making everything snug and warm. 

I had a re-arrange of the mantle-piece the other day to make room for lots more candles. I would really like to paint the fireplace as the wood is a little orange, but as I may have mentioned before, lovely S is not quite sold on my desire to paint everything in sight and is currently resisting this particular paint project. So for now it stays wood coloured and I'm putting up with the blue tiles that I don't really love either. I'm still happy with how it looks though now I've got all my cream candle holders arranged. It did make me realise that I need far more though. What I really need is some cream candlesticks as all I seem to have is lanterns or tea light holders. One thing I did do to create more holders was to use a cream pot (second from the right) to hold a tea light. It's added more in the way of cream to the shelf, and although you don't see the actual candle, it gives off a lovely glow from the top that works really well. 

Back again next week hopefully with some nursery photos. It's just about done but I still have the pictures to put up. Have a lovely weekend. 

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It really is Summer

Despite all the awful weather we've been having we did actually get some sun this weekend. 

Yesterday we woke up to dull grey skies and showers on and off. We managed to dodge one when we popped into town in the morning. The day didn't seem promising at all......

But as we finished our delicious roast chicken mid afternoon the sun really came out and the clouds started to get fewer and further between. Lovely S suggested we jump in the car and drive 20 minutes to one of our favourite walks. 

I'm sure I've posted about this walk before as it is very local to where we used to live in Oxfordshire. It's an old railway that has now been turned into a lovely walkway through the countryside. I love doing this walk as you really get to see the changing seasons. 

Little F fell asleep in the car on the way there and slept for a while in his pushchair. But when he woke he loved it. It's perfect for him at he moment as he is still a little wobbly on his feet so the flatness of the path is a great place for him to practice his walking. Plus there is so much to see. 

He loved looking down at the animals in the fields below. 

He was particularly keen on the cows which he declared he wanted to kiss! We did a lot of mooing sounds to say hello to the cows. 

I'm just hoping we have more sunshine like this so we can get out and about and enjoy the lovely countryside that we have so close to us. What have you been doing this weekend? Did the sun shine for you?

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