clover mites

lottie and i were walking along the top of a short brick wall today and noticed a mass of tiny scarlet red bugs crawling on the brickwork...i told lottie they used to fascinate me when i was little but i never knew what they were called...back then, if you wanted to discover something you had to go to the library (and my local library circa.1978 was not the most brilliant of reference sites) or consult your family encyclopedia volumes or write to the national history museum (once you'd rang directory enquiries to get their address) but now we have the internet and so after a ignorant wait of 33 years i now know these teeny things are called clover mites...harmless to humans, only eating vegetable matter.

i bet a lot of you didn't know that either

easter holidays

we went to sheffield park and met our fabulously wonderful friends and had just about the best day in ages...if you have never been to sheffield park, go! stunningly beautiful...we did an egg trail with book clues and we all won chocolate eggs! had a picnic, climbed trees, did some crochet (have recently learnt how to crochet flowers), enjoyed brilliant sunny weather, the kids were all fantastic and we laughed lots...went home with a heart full of love and warmth

vicky, geo and tommy spent the day with us for a lovely easter tea (chocolate cake, hot cross buns and easter nests with a huge pot of tea) followed by a trip to the old rag and bone man's dump site for an archeological dig where we got a right haul...came home and washed our mud covered antiques and flomped in the shade.....tommy's tooth came out so his fairy 'cherub' will be visiting tonight! lovely, lovely day

lottie spent the afternoon at the trampoline centre which she had to herself! 3 coaches to one child...what a great value-for-money ratio!

my dad took me to the tip to get rid of 8 binliners of stuff that have been cleared from the teenager's bedroom and i would be embarrassed to donate to the charity shop

we visited boo and jaycee's house of birth and they are uncles! their sister has had kittens and they are 6 weeks old and so cute it is silly

we have had the electric check and maintenance check on the house ready for the move...both guys turned up unannounced to be greeted by me in my pj's...not a pretty sight

the easter decorations are up and each year i forget all the bits the girls have made over the years and unearthing them is a little treat that makes me all aglow

i hope whatever you have been up to this easter has been joyful, sunny, heartwarming and preferably free!

egg hunt!

we went to the haven and met up with friends and had an egg hunt in the woods then a picnic in the cemetary...lovely day

cleansing

even though i am famous for moving home and i thought i was fed up with the whole process and hoped not to do it again for a while; i am actually enjoying this move...it's a fantastic opportunity to cleanse your home of the old, unused, unloved...very cathartic and with the ruthless mindset i have at the moment, exceptionally beneficial for my local charity shops

easter school holidays now and so i am looking forward to lie-ins, easter crafts, days out and meeting family and friends...and treating the ringworm that has appeared on my body! lovely big patch on my leg from a cat scratch....i don't like having a fungal infection (it just sounds awful)....my ex-husband had a fungal infection once called 'groin and pit rot'...just from the moist and hot areas on his body...i should have been sympathetic but at the time found it hilarious...now he can laugh at me (karma eh?)

enjoy your easter hols x

dig for victory!

seed planting has been done

ellie has chosen lettuce and radish but more importantly carrot and beetroot

(supplies for chocolate and beetroot cake and carrot cake!)

we are hoping they will be ready to plant out in the new garden when we move in 4 weeks

lottie has yet to do hers but she has pumpkin, corn and wants a raspberry bush

whatever you are growing with love, i wish it sturdy roots

a great swap

i got these freshly laid chicken and duck eggs in return for...

one of these

at lottie's trampolining home-school group i have made two fabulous friends who make me excited about going each week as we have a great laugh and they are just so lovely

debbie has chickens and ducks; i make cloth pads; she wanted a pad, i love eggs

done deal!

necessity is the mother of invention

we are moving home in 5 weeks!

what to take, what to let go?

our very comfy but very old 3 seater sofa is on it's last legs (actually it's only had one set of legs) but i am loathed to part with it because i can't afford to buy another and all it needs is some love and an upholstery clean. SO in 2 hours of mania, i made a patchwork slip cover! i have ordered fabric dye so the cushion zip covers will be 2 different colours and something i have coveted for a lonnnnng time is now mine!

once cushion covers have been dyed, i will take a photo and share....

knitted slippers

i am jolly chuffed with myself.

whilst relaxing in my boudoir on sunday i started what i have been meaning to do for too long. scraps of wool knitted into a rectangle as long as your foot (and as wide to cover it). once casted off, fold the rectangle in half longways and sew one end (this makes the heel of your slipper). at the other end, sew from the folded tip up to the middle of the rectangle (from folded edge to unfolded edges in a slope). this creates two flaps either side of that seam. fold these down and sew them flat. add a crochet flower for decoration. (i nearly put a bell on instead as they look like slippers the pixies would wear)

skip around your home in your new slippers and feel like one of the little people (wings and a tutu would be a good addition at this point)

calm

whilst i am faffing about before bed at night, lottie has been listening to an audio book and doing hama beads. just watching her in a moment of utter calm and concentration is heart-warming.

i recommend it.

biscuits

our biscuit tin was empty and as we all know "a drink's too wet without one"

so dough-making and rolling and stamping out fell upon our kitchen

lottie made mini toadstools for ellie and gingerbread men for herself

(and very nice they were too)

a lovely day

a new peg bag, some hearts on string, instant latte, cath kidston heart, retro mug and tin and some chocolates that are not in the photo as i've already scoffed them

i made lemon meringue pie as the celebratory dessert which i shared with HRH The Queen Mother and Princess Anne

(my mum, gawd bless her, bought me a chicken and some beef mince so that's this week's dinners sorted)

happy mothers day!

i have announced to my darling children that i will be staying in my royal bedchamber all day tomorrow but they may visit me and bestow gifts...i have made food, they just need to heat it themselves...i simply must adhere to the strict mothering sunday rules that state no parent of the female persuasion is to rise from her place of slumber...

to all mums everywhere, may your day be filled with love and chocolate

"mum, i want to bake"

there comes a point when sweet things you no longer want, it is savoury you desire, and more importantly, MEAT...today's cooking was pastry-making and pie building...lottie has learnt the half fat to flour ratio for pastry (and the fat is butter AND lard)...beef, garlic, onions, mushrooms, gravy as the filling...175C for 40 mins...the pastry is heaven-sent, the meat is tender and my mouth is in a very happy place...very probably and utterly the best beef pie my palate was very pleased to be introduced to

mmmm

today i is feeling poorly...lottie seems to have bestowed her germs upon me and they are mutating...i feel like a mucous monster but for the first time in years my chest is tight ha ha!

lottie worked hard toward her badge 7 at trampolining yesterday then one of her bouncy friends came round and they did puffy paint, made recipe books, ate sweets (of course), cuddled the pets in the tent (doesn't everyone have a tent in their lounge?) and played hide and seek

i do believe that afternoon of activity comes under the realm of 'socialisation' thus disproving the nonsense people spout about the lack thereof in homeschooled/unschooled children (nuff said)

have a great day whatever joys come your way x