Pink Green

Curtains!

Sorry for the lack of blogging and comments, and thank you to everyone who left a comment on my last post. I haven't been a good blogger lately and I apologise for my lack of commitment. I have been reading all your posts but haven't commented much recently. When things are busy (as they have been over the last few weeks) blogging unfortunately is the first thing to go. Whilst I love it and miss it when I'm not in the swing of it, I feel so guilty about using my time to browse and write blogs and not take care of jobs and chores. I did actually write 2 posts and then couldn't upload photos, then ran out of time and by the time I sorted out the photo problem the posts were out of date. Thanks to all of you who wished us luck with the dog training. I am pleased to report that there has been a significant improvement after just 3 weeks!

Anyway, some of the many jobs I've been doing at home are curtain related, and here are my efforts. Poor Ruth has had a make-shift blind ever since she moved into this room (about 5 years ago!), and I finally got round to putting up a curtain pole and hanging these Boden curtains that I got ages ago from eBay. They go perfectly with her wardrobe, and make her room much cosier. Unfortunately this is all I can show you as it is such a mess and we are currently at loggerheads over tidying, so rather than shock you all with the current stalemate I framed it very carefully so you can't see the floor! The bedside cabinet was a recent Freecycle find and I was going to paint it but Ruth likes it the way it is.

These curtains were a bargain find in an antiques shop in Hexham when I went to stay with my sister in the Summer. They were £2.50 and are perfect for the kitchen. The draining board is full of bits and bobs I bought today and have just washed.

The curtains were certainly more of a bargain thananything to be found in RE in Corbridge, which was an amazing place to visit, but the prices were a bit out of my range. It was very inspiring, and I could have comee home with pretty much everything they were selling had money been no object. They had masses of embroidered tablecloths for silly prices, unlike the PDSA shop in town, where I purchased this today for 99p. It is really crisp linen and has beautiful embroidery all over. This is just a little bit.

I also got 6 of these napkins.

And something which has really made my day. This little lot was a bargain but I would have paid 10 times more. I used to have a whole dinner service in this pattern, including serving dishes and gravy boat, all of which belonged to my Grandmother. It was lovingly packed into a box when we moved house but it never made it to the new house. I thought it was in our basement with heaps of other unpacked stuff, but when we cleared the basement to have some work done there was no sign of the china. Although this was 7 years ago I still mourn the loss of it, and I have so far found 1 soup bowl to start my new collection. So you can imagine my joy when I found this set. There are 4 tea plates, a cake plate and creamer and sugar basin. Not quite a complete dinner service, but a good start nonetheless.

I also found this jar for 95p and I think it is going to hold my flour in the cupboard. Sorry for the photo quality - I'd just wiped the worktop!

 

I am loving this Autumn weather we are finally having - blue skies and sun by day, and fires and blankets at night. Bliss. I had to treat myself to these Dahlias the other day too - they are just one of many reasons to love Autumn, and they go really well with my new oilcloth!

I have also found time for a few sewing project. This is a bag to hold all my work stuff, and although it looks wonky is perfectly straight - it is just full already!

This is hanging on the other side of the door and is a bag for Grace's music - handy for piano and violin books.

And finally, this is what I plumped for on the mantlepiece eventually. I am much happier with it now!

Hope you are all having a lovely start to the week. I'll try to be a better blogger this week!

Cathy XX

PS I worked out what was wrong with the photos (as you can see). It was my new web browser, so this is done on my old one, and I am very proud that I figured it out for myself!! I just have to work out how to enable photo uploads on the new one now.

Help!

Does anyone know how to get Typepad to let me upload photos and create links? I'm sure it's something I'm doing, but I can't work out how to fix it. It keeps coming up as html instead of the photo or link. It was working fine until last week but I can't get it going now.
Any suggestions gratefully received as I have a post here ready and waiting but it is a bit boring and meaningless without photos!
Cathy XX

Weekend Contentment

It may be raining outside, but I am in such a positive frame of mind at the moment that I am not letting it bother me. My life seems to be right where I want it just now, and am feeling relaxed and refreshed after the lovely summer holidays we had. I am doing just what I want to with my life, my girls are so animated and happy to be back at school, Andy is relaxed and happy too despite not having quite as much time off as the rest of us, and even Bodie is showing signs of calming down and chilling out!

Poor Bodie didn't have the best start in life and when we got him at 7 months hadn't received any training at all. We did our best with him, and within a very short time had him behaving in just the way we wanted at home - sitting, waiting, giving a paw, even balancing a dog biscuit on his nose. Unfortunately, despite reading copious training books and trying to implement their ideas, bribing him with cheese and dog treats, and taking notes whilst watching 'Dog Borstal' (look it up - it's the funniest thing on tv even if you haven't got a dog!), Bodie remains a real handful when we are out. He runs off after dogs, won't come back and pulls continuously on his lead. It got to the stage where I wasn't keen to take him out on my own, but all that is about to change! Last night we had a visit from an amazing lady called Claire, dog trainer extraordinaire. Even after one session I feel much more in control, and we have been practicing our homework ready for the dog training classes that we are all going to as a family. It sounds like really good fun, and I am really looking forward to it. Who knows - we may even enter Crufts next year!!

Today I made a foray into town, and came back with some fab treasures. I haven't done much in the way of thrifting recently, and my favourite charity shop really came up trumps today. These little glasses were the first things I saw on my way in and (sadly) made my heart leap with joy. Some days I scour the charity shops for goodies only to come away empty handed, but today was definitely not one of those days. These have a picture of 6 different roses with the name underneath, and catch the light really nicely on the dining room window.

I love the colours on this crinoline lady tray cloth. I have a project planned for this, and the tablecloth I bought today too that didn't come out well in the picture, but has lovely pictures of Hollyhocks embroidered in each corner.

I love anything in the original box, and these glasses will come in handy for a warming whisky in the Winter.

Some pretty glasses, a pale blue candlestick, a sugar shaker and a pretty glass bowl.

A pretty enamel tray for £1.

Unfortunately I did the charity shop first, and ended up lugging several heavy bags around town, one of which contained the oblong mirror to the left of the picture above. Still, it was worth it, and I love getting home and unpacking my treasures, then carefully washing them in warm, soapy water, before placing them around the house. I spent a happy hour drawing round all these mirrors onto newspaper, cutting them out and then placing them with blu-tac. I then had to shorten all the chains before hanging them all. I had been waiting to get one more mirror so I could do this little project, and it has really made the sitting room brighter.

I don't know if it is to do with the changing season, but I am really itching to rearrange my house a little. I love moving objects around and creating new groups of bits and bobs to look at. I did intend to do the whole of the downstairs today as Andy and the girls were quite happy with their own occupations and didn't really need my interference, but I spent so long doing the sitting room that I ran out of time. I had a creative block when it came to my mantelpiece and re-did it several times. I am still not entirely happy with it, but I am sure the inspiration will come to me (it usually happens in the middle of the night, so I could be floating around in the small hours moving candlesticks tonight!). We got some kindling today and we have coal left over from the Spring, so I may even light the fire tonight to cheer the place up.

Attempt number 1 - too bland and boring.

Attempt number 2 - not quite right, but better than 1.

Attempt number 3 - better (despite dodgy photo), but still not perfect. Amazingly the sun decided to shine for about 4 minutes while I took this picture, so you can't really see the candlesticks and the glass dish. I need a better central item, but am still in a quandry. I'll keep you posted!

Before I go I must show you this beautiful pincushion that lovely Patricia sent me. She has the most inspiring blog, and makes really pretty things, so go and have a look for yourself.

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend - the weather doesn't have to dampen the spirits, even if it does dampen everything else!

Cathy XX

So, that's it then...

...Summer has been and gone. If you blinked you may have missed it. Tomorrow is back to school day for us all (except Andy, who has trotted off to work over the holidays leaving us asleep, or at best still in pyjamas!). I have mixed feelings about the girls going back to school - on the one hand I like the routine and order of the school week, but on the other I will miss them. I can't believe that I have children in Years 2 and 4 - where does the time go? Six weeks seemed like such a long time at the start of the holidays, and I now can't believe it has gone already. We've had such a lovely time, and our feet have barely touched the ground. We had the first week in Pembrokeshire (in glorious sunshine), then the girls went to my parents' house for a few days, then Andy had a week off and we pottered around here, then I went to stay with my sister and her boyfriend for a few days with the girls, then back to my parents again, then last week we went camping with our lovely friends Sophie and Greg and their girls. Phew, I'm exhausted, and need to go back to work for a rest!

We had a fabulous time in Northumberland at my sister's new house. She lives in a lovely village near Gateshead, and we went to Tynemouth beach, into Newcastle, and to a fabulous museum called Seven Stories, which is a 7 storied building with each floor devoted to different themes in children's books. It was a really lovely place, and our favourite floor was the floor which explored the relationships in children's books set in the countryside with animals as the characters. It sounds very specific, but incorporated Winnie the Pooh, Wind in the Willows, Animals of Farthing Wood, plus many many more. If you are in the area I strongly recommend it - there was something for us all, not just the children, and it was really good fun.

From Rachel's house we went to stay with my parents and spent a day on my Aunt and Uncle's canal barge. My uncle (who will forever more be called Cap'n Dave by us all) let the girls steer the boat, and I got to do the locks with my aunt. The girls definitely got the easy job! We had a lovely restful time and then came back to chaos and a pile of washing ready for camping a day later!

View from the galley (kitchen to any landlubbers) window on the 'Rallus'.

View from the front of the boat as we were just about to set off for a trip along the canal. The pace of life was just lovely, and people were so friendly. We got chatting to one family in a lock who had 8 month old twins in their car seats on the roof of their barge. They were having a ball watching all the leaves pass overhead.

Last week we headed off to the Gower in Wales for a week's camping, and stayed at the best campsite I have ever been on. It was right by the sea and had amazing views (when the mist lifted - we were there 3 days before we saw past the headland!). The girls all went off together to the beach and filled buckets with crabs and whelks - they spent hours bent double, peering into rock pools. We went to some lovely beaches, got cut off by the tide and had to wade through a river after climbing a sheer bank of trees with no path, then I jumped a ditch and fell in (which lightened the mood considerably) and had to squelch back to the car caked in mud. It was a real adventure and was actually quite exciting (in retrospect!). We went back to the tents for a shower and fish and chips, so a good end to the day. The girls did heaps of bike riding, crazy golf, and body-boarding and I swear they have grown several inches since the start of the hols.

3 of the 4 girls in a typical holiday pose - peering into pools!

All 4 showing us their 'firework display' with the free glow-sticks that they were giving out at the camp shop.

Our campsite from the headland.

I couldn't not show you these bargains while I'm at it - the prettiest make up I have ever seen for the princely sum of 50p from H&M, and Delilah - the latest addition to the family, acquired for less than the price of a large glass of wine in my local!

I hope if you are going back to school that it isn't too much of a struggle getting up in the mornings. My new term resolution is to have everything ready the night before, but I bet it lasts less than a week! I've got a huge joint of pork in the oven and am trying to have a chilled out evening with the girls before the chaos starts again!

Cathy XX

Creative juices returning...

After quite a long break from creativity, the desire has finally returned! I couldn't say the last time I had a day sewing, but I have had 2 in the last week! This has mainly been due to the fact that I am hobbling around the house having done something mysterious to my foot, and possibly have a broken toe. As a result I haven't been out of the house for days and I have been pottering at home quite contentedly, and making a huge mess in the process. Andy had last week off and ended up taking the girls out on his own, while I made these....

I have been meaning to make some of these lounge pants from Amy Butler's 'In Stitches' ever since I got the book (about a year ago), and have been saving thrifted sheets for the very purpose. I have to say they are the comfiest 'soft bottoms' I have had for a very long time, and I am practically living in them at the moment! I had to make 2 pairs as one was a trial with a not-so-nice sheet, and the white ones are my ones for 'best'. Unfortunately as always happens, the trial pair came out slightly better than the 'best' pair, but they are both comfy and pretty, so who cares?!

I also made the girls a nightdress each. Grace is obsessed by nighties and has several - some of which I've made and some from Boden, and I have to say that the ones I have made myself have lasted longer and washed better, so from now on I am sticking to making my own. Ruth demanded one when she saw I was making one for Grace, despite normally having to be swaddled from head to toe at bedtime (including socks) even in the hottest weather. I made her promise she would wear it if I made her one, and to her credit she has rarely been out of it. It is now lunchtime and she is still in it, so it was a hit and I may make her some more.

Aside from nightwear I also made three cushions (the three in the middle) for the sofa (long overdue), 2 cushions for my outdoor chairs (if we ever get to use them again - they are a bit soggy at the moment) and an ironing board cover, which was a necessity as I cut through the existing one whilst making one of the cushions. I've even dusted off my jewellery making stuff and made these two necklaces.

My lovely little sister has just bought her first house with her boyfriend and the girls and I are going to stay with them on Friday for almost a week, so I had to make her a few house-warming presents to take along too. Unfortunately I can't show you at the moment in case she reads this, but I'll post a photo when we return.

All in all I have been a very busy bee, and I have loved feeling that creativity return. As they say, every cloud has a silver lining. I'll have to injure myself again soon so that I can stay in and sew more often!

We are loving the holidays and don't want them to end. It's so nice catching up with friends and floating around in PJs until lunchtime. I may not be around much for the next couple of weeks - I'm away with the girls and then we are (weather permitting) going camping for the last week of the hols, so apologies if I am not a frequent blog visitor for a while. Normal (ie erratic) service will resume once term starts!
Happy holidays,
Cathy XX

The Good Life...

I think I may be turning into Barbara Good, despite being about 2' taller and not looking good in denim dungarees. For those of you who don't know, there was a fab classic '70s sitcom about a couple who turned their suburban garden into a small-holding much to their neighbours distress, called 'The Good Life'. I have been making jam, pickles and chutneys and the house smells of a peculiar (but not unpleasant) mixture of fruit and sugar, vegetables and vinegar. We have got so much produce at the allotment at the moment that preserving it is the only way of keeping on top of it. My freezer is full to bursting and I love the thought that in the Winter we can eat things that were frozen in the Summer. A very kindly neighbour gave us a huge bag full of beetroot so I made Roasted Beetroot Soup from Sarah Raven's lovely book, accompanied by Courgette Bread (which was delish), and still had enough beetroot left over to pickle several jars-worth. I have made Courgette Chutney, Blackberry Jam (with a hint of Raspberry - not enough yet to make it in it's own right), Runner Bean Pickle and am heading back down to the plot today to see what else is on offer. It is a full time job at the moment trying to eat it all! I am aiming to make Sarah Raven's Runner Bean Flower Salad, which has the beans and the flowers in together. I'll let you know how it goes!

Courgette Chutney. Note the yellow courgettes - we have hundreds. The green ones are not doing as well and I have only had 1 tiny one from them so far.

I love the way the blackberry juices melt into the sugar - my favourite part of jam-making.

A small portion of yesterday's preserving. I ran out of jars and had to send Andy out for more Le Parfait ones, but the jam in the bowl is destined for a cake!

I have been reading my absolute favourite book again - 'The Magic Apple Tree' by Susan Hill. I am on my second copy as the first fell to bits through over-use. I think I may have mentioned it before, but I love to read it at the start of each season (and during) and it makes me want to live in the countryside even more every time I read it. It really evokes an image of unspoilt English countryside, which I'm sure isn't really the case in many villages now, but all the same it is a good read and a good prompt for daydreaming!

While the girls were away last week being spoiled rotten by my parents I turned the basement into a den/playroom. They have so many toys that are shared jointly and get really mad with each other if they leave their rooms in a mess that I thought it was time they had a place to share them. I won't need it as a workroom anymore (although I am hoping that now my stuff is in the dining room I will use it more frequently), and they were thrilled. It took me 3 days, 6 bags of stuff for the charity shop, 4 bags of rubbish and a sore back from carrying all the playmobil and Sylvanian Families stuff downstairs, but it was worth it. When asked what they would like to do (Andy is off work too so days out are a real option) they have said they want to stay in to play in the 'den'. I've hardly seen them, which is how I have managed to get so much preserving done! I spent a very happy hour setting up all the Sylvanian Families bits and pieces, and the Playmobil Victorian House, and actually got quite cross when they decided to move all the furniture round!

In between all the cooking I did find time to put up some plates in the dining room. I have been meaning to do it for ages, and I am really pleased to create some space in my cupboard and also be able to look at these beauties more often. I ran out of plate holders and I have got one more plate to go up (which is why it is a little wonky at the bottom), so will have to get on to that today.

Aside from that, if we can tear the children away from the basement we will be weeding and harvesting, visiting the Holst Museum and walking Bodie. Sophie gets back from nearly a month away on Monday and we need to tart up her side of the allotment a bit as we promised we would look after it for her and haven't done much other than feed her tomato plants so far. We won tickets to Longleat at the school fair and are hoping to go tomorrow if the weather is ok. If not, then the den it is!!

I hope you are all enjoying the holidays despite the weather. Have fun!
Cathy XX

Relaxed and refreshed!

Pembrokeshire has to be one of the most beautiful places in the UK. We had such a lovely week, and it was all over far too quickly. We had fabulous weather, and went on the beach every day - some days twice as we took Bodie every evening for a swim too.  The girls rode their bikes (they both had new ones for their birthdays and Ruth had learnt to ride hers by the end of the week). We spent a day in St Davids which was very pretty but explained why no one was on the beach - they were all wandering around the town and cathedral.

The beaches are amazing - gleaming white sand and crisp blue sea with trees coming down to the sand. The best bit was that they were virtually deserted too.

There are castles everywhere - this is Carew Castle, which is really impressive. Unfortunately I was distracted by the gorgeous house next to the mill in the background, which looked like somewhere I could live!!

Ruth had her birthday on Wednesday so we went to Folly Farm as a treat, and they went on their first ever Ferris Wheel, fed animals, ate ice cream and then had fish and chips on the seafront in Tenby. Bliss.

Tenby harbour - the seafront is really pretty with lots of interesting houses and tiny alleyways. We took over 500 photos while we were away, so be thankful I didn't post more!

Half an hour after arriving at our cottage Bodie decided he wanted to explore and jumped out of the girls' first floor bedroom window. He must have some cat instinct in him as he landed on his feet and walked away as if nothing had happened, although he did graze his chin and therefore it looked like he was sticking his tongue out for the whole week. A few trips to the sea helped it to heal and it won't be long before the hair grows back!

We came back on Saturday, I did heaps of washing and am now in 'sorting the house out' mode. I don't know if any of you suffer from this phenomenon, but whenever I return home from being away I have an overwhelming desire to tidy out cupboards, rearrange furniture and generally 'play house' for a while. I am going to be able to indulge my slightly sad desires as the girls are off on their hols again tonight. They are going to stay with my parents for a few days and I am planning a huge revamp of their bedrooms and the basement while they are away. They are really excited as they have only been to stay without us once before, and it was a huge success for everyone involved. My aunt and uncle have just bought a canal boat and are cruising the waterways on their sabbatical and are at the moment very close to my parents, so they are going to go on that too, which will be fab for them.

So, aside from a surprise barbecue to celebrate a friend's retirement and a trip to another friend's house for a paddle in their giant pool, we have been mooching around here since we got back. A trip to the allotment is called for asap as the weeds (and veg) have gone 'whoosh' since we've been away. We have been on a picking mission since we got home, but not for any length of time. We are also meant to be tending Sophie's half while she is away for the next 3 weeks. I am freezing peas and broad beans and we are eating our way through as much as possible - everything seems to come at once, so we will be almost-vegetarians for a while to get through it all. I also picked some blackberries, which struck me as very early. We haven't even got any raspberries yet (although they are Autumn fruiting ones). Having the allotment makes me feel very in-tune with nature and the seasons and I love eating food at the correct time of year. It seems wrong to eat asparagus and strawberries in Autumn, and I look forward to each season for the different food on offer.

We had Ruth's party before we went away, and that went swimmingly. We were all exhausted by the end of it though and were glad of the holiday! This is the fairy toadstool house birthday cake, which Ruth was very taken with. I found a picture on Google and tried to copy it, but it didn't turn out quite like the picture!

Before I go I must also say a big thank you to Mollycupcakes for her lovely giveaway. The fairies and flowers colouring book was snaffled up by the girls instantly and kept them occupied during the quiet lulls on holiday. The bath treats, buttons and notepad are definitely mine though. Andy ate the Bounty before I had chance to blink (to be fair he didn't realise it was mine, or he would have thought twice!). Thank you Catherine - it was a lovely treat.

On that note, I am off to make obligatory holiday pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast. A little late, but we do like floating around in our PJs and we were up early as Andy is back to work this week and was out of the house at 7.30. He finds it hard to creep around quietly so we all get up with him! Hope you are all enjoying the holidays. Much love,

Cathy XX

Party, Party!

Thank you all for your lovely comments on my last post. Well, life is chaos as usual in the Pink Green household. I have decided I thrive on chaos (which is just as well really!) and that I would be bored if life was smooth and ordered. We had a huge party for my parents at their house at the weekend to celebrate their semi-retirement, birthdays and wedding anniversary. Actually, it was just a good excuse for a party and we had about 40 or so people there. It was lovely, and my parents really enjoyed themselves. Unfortunately I was too busy catering and mingling to take any photos, but take it from me it all went well! My Aunt and Uncle have just arrived from Alice Springs, Australia, for a 6 month sabbatical and they were there, which was really great. They bought a canal boat  2 days after stepping off the plane and are off to explore Britain's waterways for the next few months so we should be seeing more of them shortly.

As if one party a week wasn't enough, it is Ruth's birthday party tomorrow. Her birthday is actually next Wednesday, but as it is the holidays we thought we would have a party when people were still around to attend! So, I have had a week off this week and have finally managed to be creative. I have made 10 strings of bunting for the party-goers to decorate with crayons (a la Dottycookie - thanks for the tip!), 10 party bags with initials on the front, and 10 sets of these...

I am trying to be a little greener this year and have tried to steer clear of the plastic tat which usually goes in party bags only to be thrown away or eaten by the dog within minutes. As there are 6 weeks of potential boredom looming I thought something creative was in order, and I am pleased with the outcome. I have a chocolate cake in the oven as we speak and am aiming for a fairy toadstool house. Wish me luck!

Other exciting news just in is that I have just booked a holiday! Starting on Saturday! And I have 4 loads of washing to get through, a party to organise, presents to wrap and a pub-fest to celebrate the last day of term (for me, not the girls), before then! Again, wish me luck. We are off to Pembrokeshire to the most beautiful looking cottage in the grounds of a manor house with sea views and sheep (so Bodie may not be coming home with us). Yesterday we were planning to go camping for next week, but the weather isn't meant to be great and the thought of sitting in a tent with 2 crabby children and a smelly labrador didn't really appeal, so we thought we deserved a good break as we have all worked very hard recently (girls included) and we are in need of some r & r.

I am also a very lucky girl for other reasons too. The postie knocked on my door yesterday and presented me with these lovely, lovely treasures from Jess at The White Verandah. I won her give-away, and I think the loot must have been packed with just me in mind! There was a beautiful flowery teacup and saucer, a rose-embellished lidded pot, fabric, lace, an embroidered tray cloth (which is perfectly adorning my pink stripey chair), a crocheted doily, a spool of pink ribbon, a birthday card which I am going to give Ruth next week, and the most amazing Apple Dumpling flavoured sweets. I was very touched by the generosity of Jess. She has a lovely blog, and a great website (that I have purchased from before - check it out as it is fab). Thank you again, Jess.

That's not all, folks. I have also been given these 2 awards. The "Brilliant Weblog" award is from Knitty, Vintage and Rosy, who has a really inspiring blog and home that I only discovered fairly recently. The pictures of her garden make me want to sit in it with a book and a Pimms for hours! It's a shame she's so far away.

Steph at Curlew Country also gave me a "You Make My Day" award, which in turn has made my day. She also has a fabulous blog that I know most of you visit, and is an all round good egg! So, thank you both very much.

I would like to pass on both awards to the following (and I'm sorry if you've had them before), and these are just some of the people who, in my opinion, have a Brilliant Weblog and who also Make My Day.

Jess at The White Verandah (and not just because she sends me lovely things). She has a lovely blog and makes me smile (not just by sending me lovely things!).

Val at Dottycookie for joining the allotment club and for giving me inspiration. And for replying to every single comment I have ever sent her.

Jeska at Lobster and Swan for being one of the first people to leave a comment when I started blogging, and for having such gorgeous ideas and photos. She is a real source of inspiration.

Annie at All Things Lovely. Sorry Annie, I know you've just received both of these, but you do have a Brilliant Weblog and you do make my day. I love your blog and allotment stories and can't wait to meet up to talk about them in person!

Mia at Mias Landliv for having such a lovely blog and giving me inspiration. Also for taking such great photos of Norway to make me look forward to next year even more (we are hoping to go to Sweden via Norway next Summer).

Lisa at Primrose Hill for giving me food for thought and daydreams (I want her life!).

And last but not least,

Patricia at Shabby Roses Cottage for using such bright and cheerful colours and for making such beautiful things. She is also a great source of inspiration.

I know it's a cop out posting both awards to the same people, but I have got a party to plan and a holiday to pack for! And I did add a couple of extras for good measure.

Hope you have a good week or two. I will look forward to hearing whether or not you are surviving the holidays when I get back from sunny (fingers crossed) Pembrokeshire.

Cathy XX

Happy Days...

In Winter and early Spring when I am cold and wet and fed up of digging soggy soil I will look at this picture to spur me on...

This is one of the nicest meals we have had this year - our own from start to finish. It is a mixture of Rainbow Chard, Oak Leaf Lettuce, Pea Shoots, Peas, Broad Beans, Mangetout, Spring Onions, Carrots and 1 Nasturtium flower (plenty more on the way but still buds at the mo!). The bowl is the biggest I own (it is huge) and we ate every last morsel. The girls even fought over it and as I tried to break them up Andy told me to treasure the moment - they don't often fight over salad!

The allotment isn't just good for veg - despite Andy's annoyance I have managed to squeeze in a few flowers too. I never through I'd say it but I am slightly sick of Sweet Williams now, despite having given masses away, but the Snapdragons (above) and Sweet Peas are coming into their own now to take over.

This one is actually from my garden at home - a little rain splattered but still beautiful.

So, moving on from gardening, I have an exciting announcement. I have a job!! Hurrah!! At long last I have been offered a job starting in September at the girls' school as a teaching assistant. It is only for 1 day a week to begin with, but fingers crossed it may well lead to more. I haven't booked in the ironing lady yet, but you never know!! I am working full time this week again filling in for the TA in the Year 1 class (which happens to be Ruth's class), and I am loving it. I can see that if I were to work full time for a while I would become stick thin - I have barely sat down today!

So, bye bye Pink Green Creations. Although I did enjoy sewing and doing fairs and the website, the financial return for what actually is a huge amount of work in hours (as I know many of you know) was not worth it for me. I miss making things (no time at the mo), but not to sell - I want to make things for me. I have a list as long as my arm of things for the house, and clothes for the girls. I want sewing to be a hobby, and to have a regular income each month in a job where I get to make a difference, so this will be perfect. Also, I am sure many of you are noticing a slump in sales as people become more cautious over money in these turbulent economic times. I am a little sad to be 'walking out' on my business, but it served a purpose for a very long time, and things move on. I may do a 'blogshop' soon as I have fabric and bits and bobs to get rid of, and I may use it as an excuse to potter with the sewing machine from time to time, but it will be a lot less formal.

Aside from worky things, I have been having a fun time in other areas of my life too. My book group meeting last week was fab - we went to a member's house out in the wilds of Gloucestershire to a very pretty cottage which had a massive garden with rabbits hopping across and chickens pecking around. We had huge glasses of Pimms, and the book discussion was irrelevant really! Just kidding - we did have a good discussion, but for me it was overshadowed by my awe at the lovely setting. You can't beat good friends, intelligent discussion and a good old glass of Pimms whilst watching the rabbits skipping across the lawn!!

(I didn't take my camera to my book group, so here's one I made earlier!)

One of my more traumatic jobs this week was to do not one, but two presentations to a very good friend of mine who is leaving work as a teacher and assistant head at the school after 22 years. The first presentation was after a Governors meeting, where I managed to say 1 sentence and then we both started sobbing, but the second was a little more successful and I did get to the end of my speech and even most of my friend's before we both had a cry!! The second one was at the school fair in front of all the parents and staff, so I am glad I had the practice run. Despite the fact that she is the same age as my mum, we hit it off right from the word go 4 years ago when Grace started school, and have been very close friends since then. I will be sad not to see her at school, and I am so glad she taught both of mine before leaving, but I am looking forward to the long lunches and days out she has planned already! Better not work full time for a while!

Grace's birthday went very well. Actually I hardly saw her as she was at school, popped home for party tea and some High School Musical dance matting (a big thank you to my parents for that one!), and then went off to Brownies armed with birthday cake for them all. This is Sophie by the way, not Grace. Grace is the one with the bunches! We got Grace a bike (almost big enough for me to ride), and she has been off down the cycle track with Andy several times already. Ruth is getting one too (it's her birthday in 2 weeks) so we can all go out together, but shhhhhh - don't tell her!

So, sorry for the long, wittery post, but I am finding more and more that I treat this blog as a diary for me to read and go back to, rather than a treat for you all to read! Hope you're still sticking with me!

Cathy XX

Sorry it has been such a long time (again - I seem to start most posts with those words!). Aside from several technical errors (broken laptop, no camera etc), I have barely had time to sit down of an evening recently. Life just seems to be so busy, and that is how I like it most of the time, but occasionally I would like to sit and read in the garden, or just veg out with the girls. It has been chaos and we have had lots to think about and fit in. I have been working pretty much full time at school in both Year 1 and Reception, and have been to Waitrose with them on school trips, done sports day and various other end of term type things, which is all good fun. I have decided though that if I am working properly in September I will get an ironing lady - we nearly suffocated under the pile of ironing that was mounding up in our bedroom it was so huge!

We have decided to take the house off the market as now is not a good time to sell (or buy - house prices may keep dropping for quite some time), and we don't think now is the time to be stretching ourselves with a bigger mortgage. I felt really sad about it for a few days, but actually it is the right thing to do, and we do love our house. We have decided to do several of the jobs that we have been meaning to do since we moved in 7 years ago, including maybe a kitchen extension, but also smartening the garden up and various other tasks. The good news is that now we aren't moving I can start going to car boot sales and charity shops again. I have bought some bits and bobs recently (including a bedside table that meant I had to rearrange 4 rooms to get it just right - more on that in my next post!), and these napkins are my best find for a while.

Aside from that, we have had Grace's birthday celebration this weekend - 6 girls to a restaurant for dinner, then back for a sleepover (only 4 of them though, as Ruth and her best friend Ebba went to Ebba's for their sleepover, leaving the big ones to theirs). They went to sleep at about 11.30 and were up at 6 eating Space Dust and giggling. A good time was had by one and all (children, not Bodie, Andy and I!), and Grace was a happy bunny. Her actual birthday is on Wednesday, and I can't believe she will be 8. She is so grown up and is so lovely to be with, and I can't believe that it is 8 years ago today I was already in labour (it was a very protracted affair!). I don't feel old enough to be the mum of an 8 year old, and I still think of her as my 'little' girl (although she gets her height from my side of the family not Andy's - I'm 6' and he's 5'8"!). I am also quite sad that she didn't want a party this year - sleepovers seem to be the thing once you get older. Still, Ruth's birthday is in 3 weeks time and she is having the real McCoy - pass the parcel, musical bumps - the lot. It may be my last party and I am going to enjoy it (regardless of the fact she would rather be going to the cinema to see Kung Fu Panda!).

Still, this is the cake for my gorgeous and talented (and now very tired) nearly-8-year-old. She played in the school Summer Concert last week and was the only one from her year in the senior violin group. She did so well and is really coming on, so I thought this would be appropriate (she's also doing well at the piano, but I couldn't make a piano out of chocolate cake!).

I had a visit from my best friend from school and her husband last weekend. We haven't seen each other for 5 years, but it was like we had only seen each other a few days before. She met her now-husband when we were still at school and he was at University in Loughborough, and we all used to go out and sit in the Three Nuns pub in our leather jackets and slashed jeans. Much has changed since then, but it did bring back a huge rush of nostalgia seeing her again. We have resolved not to make it another 5 years before we next meet!

Our allotment is really coming into its own at the moment. I've made jam and elderflower cordial so far, and am looking forward to making more jams and chutneys as the season progresses. We have been inundated with strawberries and lettuces, and we had our first peas and broad beans yesterday (admittedly only 1 pod of each, but they are coming on). We spent a lovely day yesterday down there with Sophie and Greg. Sophie and I sent Andy and Greg to pick up some lunch from Sainsburys which we had with a huge bowl of salad made from our lettuces, spring onions, rainbow chard and pea shoots. We drank a bottle of cider in the sun and read the paper, while the children all ran off through the wilderness behind our plot, and tended to a Dunnock which had a broken wing feather. It was bliss and just what we needed after the birthday-fest! We then came home and had a roast chicken with a salad made from our own lettuce, baby carrots, baby beetroot, spring onions, potatoes and our own roasted shallots, followed by a huge bowl of strawberries. It did make me feel very virtuous. I also brought home almost the last of the rhubarb to make some rhubarb, orange and ginger jam (I did the first batch a few weeks ago and it was so delicious I felt the need to make more). Unfortunately I was trying to do too many things at once and left the rhubarb to soak up the sugar overnight, forgetting that it was 1 kilo, not 1lb of rhubarb I needed, so I am sending Andy back there tonight for the rest. I thought the ratio of sugar to rhubarb looked different to last time!

We have Sweet Williams in every room of the house, and I picked the first bunch of Snapdragons from the allotment yesterday. It's not all vegetables!

So aside from working at school, birthdays and gardening, not much else has happened. I have my book group tomorrow night, governor meeting on Wednesday and a chinese meal out with staff from school on Friday. Thursday is taken up with 'House' and 'My Name is Earl', so that's this week taken care of! I may need to get the ironing lady to start before September!

Hope you are all having a lovely week. Sorry (again) that I haven't been popping in to your blogs - not having a working laptop or PC has made it a little tricky. I promise I'll be dropping in shortly to catch up on all the gossip. Wishing you all a lovely, sunny week,

Cathy XX