Freebie

Later on this morning we'll be heading out to the car boot.

We all did well last week.

G bought two albums for a pound each and sold them both on later the same day making about £20 profit.

S found a couple of new skirts for 50p each and bought (yet another) teddy bear, although this week she has had a sort through her old ones and two carrier bags of cuddly toys were donated to the charity shop.

My best find of the day were these boots which cost me nothing.

Mum was walking just ahead of the rest of us and happened to be in the right place at the right time.

She heard the stall holder tell the person next to him that they were happy with the amount they had sold and the money they had made that morning, that they were off for a wander to check out other sellers and were leaving a sign on their goods to say 'everything free, take what you would like'.

Better than packing it up and taking it home again if you really don't want it anymore I suppose.

The boots have hardly any wear, they can have only been worn a couple of times. I felt very guilty when I walked away with them, I really felt like I had done something wrong! 
Once home I tried them on. They fit perfectly and are incredibly comfortable. 
G walked into the room whilst I was trying them on, took one look and said 'So when are you taking up professional wrestling then?!'
I could see what he meant about the style but as I intend to wear them under trousers they will do just fine. 

Morning Stroll #2

Last Tuesday me, mum and S went for a little walk.

Our stroll ended by a pub.

 There was a sign outside advertising the fact cooked breakfasts were served until midday.

A plan was made.

We would go for another stroll, explore a different route through the copse and make sure we ended up by the pub for 11.30.

So this Tuesday we parked up and headed off into the copse, me and mum using the small gate, S climbing over the larger one.

Instead of going towards Pine Walk this time we headed in the direction of Old Ivy Lane.

The path meandered through the copse for a short distance and then we were out and in the middle of a housing estate. 
Ivy Lane turned out to be one I have driven past thousands of time and never really noticed and it leads to a very busy road. This wander wasn't as green and pleasant as the previous week.
The highlight at this point was this gorgeous red front door with stained glass panel.

 

Walking alongside the busy road we were passed by a very sprightly older gentlemen who greeted us with a cheery 'Morning Ladies'.
Just after this we took the first opportunity we had to turn off from the road and try and find our way back to the copse once again. It was here we discovered a monster of a blackberry bush from which we picked a very small handful of quite large fruit for S to snack on.

We found the path we needed easily enough and managed to time our arrival at the pub just right.
Unfortunately the rest of our visit didn't go so well. They took ages to serve us with our food and when they did some of it was inedible. 
I did, very politely, complain and have also emailed my complaint to the customer service department.
In the end I had to leave mum and S to finish off whilst I made a dash to get to work, thankfully I wasn't late.
Not quite the relaxing treat we had planned but again it was good to spend our time together and outdoors.

Beach Huts, Blooms and Barons

What a glorious weekend we've just had.

The sun shone and we made the most of it.

On Friday G had taken S to Salisbury to spend a couple of days with Grandma and Auntie D and so with S away and T busy volunteering at his charity shop G and I were free to go day tripping.

A plan was made and by 9.30 we were off on the train to Bournemouth.

The walk from Bournemouth station into town isn't, initially, the most picturesque, although the row of shops and businesses along Holdenhurst Road do have an air of faded grandeur about them.

Plus I was keen to starting using the new camera G had given me for my birthday so the first photo of the day is the last shop in the row. 

We wandered into and through the town taking a more meandering route towards the seafront

which is how we happened upon this beautiful mosaic on the corner of a road by the church above. On this site there once stood a guest house by the name of 'Muriel'. The mosaic is from an art work by Aubrey Beardsley who was once a resident at Muriel having been sent to the coast for his health.

We haven't been to Bournemouth for a while and it so it was the first time we've seen the zip wire. The launch tower is on the pier and you land of the beach zipping across the water, the view must be fabulous as you travel across.

On of the highlights of the day for me was seeing the Cath Kidston beach huts. I had seen them on Instagram and you can read more about them here. I was hoping we would be able to go and see them for real and now I have! These 3 weren't being used 

but the cloud and fish ones were so I thought it would be more polite to take a sideways on snap of the group of them.

As polka dots are such a favourite of mine I was so pleased this one was free as I was able to pose for a photo and have a CK beach hut all of my own for a very short while.

From Bournemouth we strolled along the front heading towards Boscombe and there were more beach huts. 
Would you prefer yours to be green

or blue

or a shade of purple?

I particularly liked this bluebell one.

G and I had expected the beach to have been packed out with holiday makers but whole sections of it were completely empty.
It was a perfect walk.

We were ready for lunch by then having walked up a bit of an appetite and stopped for something to eat before heading up into town through the Chine Gardens.
As G's brother lives in Boscombe he sent P a text to see if he was free and the 3 of us met a short time later for a cuppa and a chat.

To round off our day G went to visit the vinyl shop in Boscombe and whilst he did that I went to Oxfam and came out laden with some great finds. Then it was off to Pokesdown station where we were waved off by this bikini clad blonde.

G reckoned we had walked about 5 miles or over the course of the Saturday. 
Sunday was a little more sedate.
We had to go and collect S and as there was another music event in the park we all met up in Lizzy Gardens for a picnic lunch and listened to jazz and swing.

For the first time this summer we were plagued with wasps and to escape them I took my camera off with me for a short wander.

When I returned everyone was looking at this little fellow who had fallen out of the tree we were all gathered under and which was perfectly camouflaged on one of Grandma's picnic cushions.

As previously mentioned Salisbury is home to a Baron trail this summer and walking around discovering them is what kept S, Auntie D and Grandma entertained on Saturday. They found them all that day bar 3, so yesterday they went and found the final one in town which they had missed. The other two are a little way out of town but we hope to see them later on in September when all 25 are going to be displayed together by the Cathedral.

Auntie D has taken S's photo by each one and so I felt it was only right I had mine taken with one of them too.

Morning Stroll

With me having to start work at 1pm and S having to go and spend the afternoon with my mum we needed to make the most of the morning.

A short walk seemed like the ideal solution.

I thought a return visit to West End copse would be ideal as it's near to where my mum lives.

Last year I took a photo of S sat on the oversized chair with G and today she offered a hand up to her nan so they could also have one taken together.

When we reached the sign post we followed the route for Pine Walk and made plans for taking an alternative route next week.

I don't think so Miss S, up you jump we've still got a bit of walking to do!

Always a treat to see a robin and this one, very obligingly, stayed just long enough for me to snap his photo.

An hour and a half spent outside this morning certainly made my 5 and a half hours in the surgery this afternoon more bearable, whilst S was able to spend more time outdoors helping her nan in the garden.

Cookies

Yesterday whilst at my sister's house she asked if I would like this cookery book she no longer wanted.

S and I had already decided Monday afternoon was going to involve some kind of baking so we gladly accepted the kind offer and then spent a while perusing it's pages.

In the end we selected two recipes.

The first was extremely quick and easy. 
Here is S proudly showing off the Snowballs.
They were made from melted white chocolate, cake crumbs and coconut.
You can tell she was pleased the result.

Our second choice was iced coffee biscuits.

S chose to bake them in 3 different shapes.

Hearts, ducks and, especially for her dad, guitars.

If these two are anything to go by we're going to be in for a tasty summer hols.

So Many Happy Things

Another big round up of our family happenings is due.

The last couple of weeks at school were a bit different.

T spent a fortnight at his old (S's current) junior school completing his work experience. 

He really enjoyed the experience of helping the children in class and he even volunteered for extra activities outside of the school day, staying on a couple of times to help with tidying away after a leaver's assembly and the school fayre.

S has also been having an exciting time as she went on a school camping trip.

They went away Tuesday 14th and came back on Friday 17th.

 It was wall to wall activity during the day with things such as abseiling, canoeing, raft building and  a zip wire and then they were kept busy each evening with games and a disco.

I've never seen S look as tired as she did when she came home!

A piece of S's art work- baguette and salad made from tissue paper

We didn't make any plans for the weekend after S came home thinking she probably wouldn't be wanting an early start or a long day out. The most we managed was a gentle stroll in the direction of a local church's summer fete. I liked these flowers made from empty fizzy drink bottles which were planted along the path leading up to the church.

The past couple Sundays haven't been great for car booting and it's been a while since we've been, but this doesn't mean I haven't been buying the odd item for myself or the home. I took a bag of donations into T's charity shop and spotted this hand knitted cushion in the window on my way in. I paid £1.50 for it.

This past week has been full celebrations as on Tuesday it was my birthday. I went for coffee with a good friend in the morning, spent the afternoon at work and then spent the evening opening presents and playing swingball in the garden. Wednesday I went out with my mum and sisters and there were more presents. There may also have been a takeaway treat. 
I know some who read my blog like to see the pile of presents my sister  C and I exchange and I will show the ones she gave me over the course of a few posts. We set a budget of £10 to spend and items have to be preloved. We have broken this rule a few times when things seen in shops have been just too good to miss and this birthday four of the ten gifts I received from C were brand new and it's these I'm sharing today.
I absolutely love the storage jar although I haven't yet decided what I'm going to use it for.
The tins are fab too, stripes and dots and the colour combination are all things which make me happy.

And as if those items weren't enough just look at this swoon worthy mug and plate. There are two of those heart shaped plates. Not just one plate of prettiness two of them.
And these are just 4 items from a total of 10 which all in all cost £10, what a bloody marvellous sister.

And my other sister T is pretty marvellous at gift giving too.

Look at this cute baby blue cup, complete with teabag, biscuits and spoon.

That spoon needs closer inspection because

love tea has been stamped on it. 
Wrapped up alongside it was the knife.
That has spread love stamped on it.
How darned cute are they.

Keeping with the present theme for the moment here is S's little thank you for her teacher who was leaving the school at the end of this term.

Using a template I found online I cut out some paper shapes which S stuck together to make the face of an owl.

On the back she wrote

'Thank you for making me WISER in year 5.

Hope you have a HOOT in your new job.'

So now the school holidays have started.

 The first day T took himself off for an appointment with the orthodontist, he likes to be as independent as possible and S spent the day with a friend.

This summer is going to be different because it's the first time since becoming a parent I will be working during the 6 weeks holiday.

Today sees another birthday, this time it's my mum and this is the children's gift to her. A huge snuggly bath sheet in deep shade of purple, with a set of berry scented candles and a bottle of blackberry memories bath foam. In my opinion a nice little trio of happy things.
We've been out for a birthday lunch where the children shared a dessert called Candymania. This huge glass goblet contained chocolate and vanilla ice cream, cream, twix bars, a cookie, M&M's and Maltesers. 
It was one very large happy thing.

To Cook or not To Cook

image from the graphics fairy

I don't know about you but these days I tend to do my grocery shopping in more than one place. We like certain products from certain places and with an ever increasing need to make our money go as far as it can I need to make sure I buy wisely.
So for instance I go to Sainsburys because we all like their tomato ketchup, I go to Tesco because I know our cats will eat their own brand of cat food and I go to Lidl for their cheese because it's so much more reasonably priced. 
Some places I go to for just a couple of items and one of those places is Iceland. It just so happens I was in here a couple of weeks ago and feeling really fed up with the whole idea of cooking and so I bought 3 frozen ready meals. 
I had had enough of people complaining about the food I cooked, suddenly not eating things I have been cooking for ages saying they now didn't like them, deciding they didn't fancy what was on offer, the list went on.
When I served up tea that night and presented them with the ready meal they were genuinely shocked. 'We never have ready meals' T exclaimed.
I explained that I was fed up.
It wasn't just a case of going to the kitchen night after night and opening the cupboards and making something appear.
I explained how I planned the menu for the week trying to ensure a variety of foods, I wrote a shopping list, I shopped for and paid for the food needed and then I stood in the kitchen and cooked it all.
With all that effort I was then more than a little ticked off when I then ended up scraping that food into the bin.
Discussions were had.
Things have improved for all.
One new recipe I have tried and which has been given the thumbs up is for something called Lazy Cheeseburgers. I didn't serve them in buns but with slices of garlic bread and this sweet and sticky BBQ rice.
It's quick and easy and good for a mid week meal.