Whizzing by......Sort of.......

I think it's part and parcel of getting older. 

Time seems to just go faster and faster.

This time of year seems to go especially quick on one hand.....yet so incredibly slowly on the other.

I always think I have lots of time to make presents for Christmas. I don't. It's always last minute and stressful. I always wish January will come quickly and I can start to look forward to the year ahead. It's when I know Spring won't be long and the dark days somehow seem easier to cope with.

Last week was a hectic one. It was our Half Term break. 

The blankets are out on all the beds now to snuggle under and hibernate in. Our house is a cool house. The Bears never seem to feel the cold, and if the heating is on a moderate temperature because I am cold, they all complain. So, I put on the extra layers and ♥love♥ my blankets and hot water bottles.....and they walk around in bare feet and short sleeved t-shirts.....(it makes me shudder!).

I wanted do a HUGE amount of this.....

Except this was the only day....and it was short lived. Pants.

There were a couple of Birthdays....

Mine was one of them.....a year older.....definitely a year wiser.

Not one for being the centre of attention and having some great party, low key is me.......I opted for a trip into London.

We hit the Museums.....The Bears were brilliant, and then we mooched along the King's Road. The last time I had walked along that street I was pregnant with Big Bear. Fourteen years ago. I obviously don't get out enough.

It's great to mooch places. I like to mooch.

The weather was amazingly great. I'm not sure I've EVER had a birthday where the weather has been mild and glorious. The only bonus for me with my Birthday, was that it always fell in the school half term (which as a school kid, was kinda great).

 

Having a couple of Birthdays in such a short space of time meant we all ate a lot of cake. 

Amongst the other grey and wet days, there was a glimmer of sunshine, so a trip to visit Jane Austen's House was had. I hadn't been for 20 years and it was great to visit there again. It was a beautiful day...although, I had a touch of the the giggles, and everything seemed really funny that day. I got a lot of stares. Everyone else was so serious there! Ever have days like that?

The house was beautiful. The sun was shining and the warmth felt in the house was amazing. I can well imagine how calming and lovely a place it was to finish her greatest novels there.

I did have a mid-week dip though.

Whilst I love the lazy days of a Half Term, I LOATHE the mess. More mess than is usual in my house. Mess to the point, where I cannot turn. Mess to the point where I want to EXPLODE at my beautiful Bears, for being totally unhelpful and only doing something if it benefits THEM.

Luckily, they did buck up their ideas and lend a hand. At the end of the week we headed to Wales to catch up with family and that was much needed.

I got to have lovely cuddle time with one of my new Nephews.

Oh I love the smell of new babies. The coohing........their dinky bums and cute little hands and feet.

Then they poop and cry....and i'm glad that i'm able to hand them back! ha ha!

There were blustery walks and rain soaked coats, but it was lovely to be out in the fresh salty air.
 

And at the end of long cold walks, there were hot chocolates and warm milks to warm one through though.

This past week has been spent playing catch up. I'm behind with everything. Not really any time for anything of a significantly crafty nature.....

....just a little bit of crochet frippery whilst having a 5 minute cuppa and a sit down....

We'll see how that one turns out!

xxx

My Week and Ponderings.......

I have REALLY enjoyed getting my blogging mojo back.

It has been great to feel like i'm getting back into a rhythm again.

At first I wasn't sure how sporadic my posts would be, but I think I am aiming for at least a weekly post. A little weekly reminder to myself how my world has been if when I look back at it.

I have spent this week in a whoosh. Is 'whoosh' the right word? Yes, I think it is. It's like someone has blown me along this week at an alarming speed. I've been here, there and everywhere. It's been a week where I haven't stopped to think and make plans. I seem to have lurched from one thing straight into another. I find these types of weeks hard, especially as I am a dreamer.....and procrastinator. If I don't get a fixed dose of these each week, I cannot seem to function at my best. This week, has actually been a week when I have needed that more than others too. I have needed to be able to have time to just think, and it's not really happened.

It has been a tiring week. The weather has been a mixed bag. We had big thunderstorms this week. We haven't had a good thunderstorm for quite a while. I do love them. I find that there is something so fascinating about angry weather. I do love to watch those programmes about the storm chasers. They are crazy dudes but I get their fascination and drive to be there in the middle of some really ridiculous weather situations. I was a tad irritated though, that it came right when the final of the great british bake off was on. Sit by the window or watch the bake off?

I feel like I have achieved a little bit this week though. Cake bakes made for school....laundry done (I loathe the monotony of laundry, and how whenever I get every last drop of it done and put away, I turn around and the piles again behind me are monstrous! Ever get that too?)......I posted off the Innocent hats......I donated blood.....I was a HUGE taxi service to my children this week (I felt like I practically lived in my car).....I got a few rows done on my blanket and made a start using the turquoise yarn I bought a few weeks ago.......I made a couple of pot holders......I ate space rocket crumpets with jam......I sorted china and blankets.....happily watched the rising sun glow across my dresser.........and loved viewing snippets of colour throughout my house.

I guess, I have achieved a fair amount. It's funny how you don't think so until you stop and make a note of it. That's where noting down these things pays off. I don't feel so rubbish about my week now! I've got little bits done here and there on the crafty front, but it all feels quite itty bitty.

I do feel though that I would really like to start a project that I have given quite a bit of thought too. I feel like the last 10 projects have been things sort of started on a whim without any proper thought. Well, except for the baby blankets. I did actually give those more than a few seconds thought.

I guess, I would just like to start something that is not started on a whim, as most of my projects seem to be. So I am on the look out for something to really get my teeth into. I do have a long list of things that I have been wanting to make for like, EVER, but I just would love to make something that really grabs me.....and truly absorbs me. Hummmmmm, I might have to spend a bit of time on Pinterest  searching for some inspiration to start the project of all projects.

Having said that though, this is not the time of year to be starting big projects really. Now is the time when I start to get twitchy, and the stress levels rise slowly. It all just gets manic from here on in until after christmas. I usually dread this all. I cannot seem to change my thought on it. Maybe i'm thinking, a project might be a good distraction or de-stresser. We shall see. Maybe just searching for inspiration and finding a project that I think I would love to start will be enough, rather than actually starting it.

Today though, I am not alone. I have Baby Bear at home with me, feeling a tad under the weather. So we are having a snuggle day. I Like days like those. The coffee pot is on and gently wafting its aroma over the house. The lamps are on. The hot water bottle is filled. Books are beside me to enjoy whilst Baby Bear snuggles and drifts in and out of sleep. This will be my day.

I hope that you all have a beautiful day, wherever you are and what ever you are doing....

xxx

Pom Pom Overdose and Autumn Air......

My weekend was filled with Autumn walks and pom poms.

The weather was really rather sad to say the least. Wet, grey, but fairly mild.

We ventured out to breath in the woodland air and see some rather lovely colours.

It was a fun walk...until it poured down when we were at the half way point. Plenty of trees to shelter under though. Baby Bear was the only one with the good sense to wear a coat! Thank goodness it was mild. 

I do love the dense green of a woodland at this time of year.

After getting my woodland fix, it was time to settle down and finish off the innocent Smoothie hats. I had to wait for my mini pom pom maker to arrive. The ones I had were just that little bit too big for the little hats.

I have to say, a pom pom garland was on my list of things to make for my Christmas Tree this year. Yeah....well.......after making 5 pom poms, I was getting a bit bored! Thirty five later and that was it....I don't ever want to make another pom pom!

I'm pleased with how they turned out though.

I must confess, I'm sad to see these little guys go.

They were such fun to make. They really do look like little miniature winter bobble hats. I loved putting all the colour combos together, and they even gave me inspiration for my next woolly hat!

I loved seeing other patterns too.......like here and here

Aren't they fun?

I really would have loved to have made more. 

The pattern was.....

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.

I think I will start to make these little beauties in the summer holidays as and when I have free moments. That way I'll be able to get a lot more made for next years campaign. I came to this party quite late, but I'm pleased with what I did managed to whip up.

They make excellent egg cosies. I think my boiled eggs need little pom pom hats for the wintery months.

I shall have to make a few more for myself.....

...Once I'm ready to face the pom pom maker again that is!

XXX

A Bit Of Baking....

Time has been spent in the kitchen.

The School Cake and Bake Sale descended upon us.

I saw these on Pinterest and thought they would be good to make.

It was hard not to do the whole...one for the school....one for me.....one for the school....one for me thing. It's very hard to resist a fresh cookie batch straight from the oven.

Find the Recipe Here

These were really quick and easy to make......and fun to eat too!

XXX