Paper Garden

A couple of weeks ago S drew a picture and presented it to me with 'mum this is for you to stick your pictures on.'
I thanked her for being so thoughtful and assured her I would certainly do just that. Later on it got popped into the basket on my bedroom bookcase along which contains all my magazines and cutouts and every so often I've glimpsed it sat there waiting for me.
As I hung another load of washing out on the line this morning I decided that today I would use my picture as an inspiration board for the garden.
Here's what I chose

No 1 - beautiful sweet peas growing up willow supports

No 2 - fresh eggs collected from our chickens. We don't have any and it's not likely we will, but this is my dream garen after all!

No 3- old metal containers full of candles for the balmy summer evenings spent outside

No 4 - a bit of recycling here. Empty food cans painted and planted up or just used for pretty posies

No 5 - deckchairs, rugs, books, glasses of elderflower cordial

No 6 - assortment of chairs around a big table covered with a rosy cloth and bunting

No 7 - washing drying on a line strung between sturdy old trees, maybe in the orchard?

No 8 - a never ending supply of soft fruits so I could make jam and cakes and ice creams and other delicious goodies because I would suddenly become a terrific cook as well as a gifted gardener

No 9 - a robin to come and visit me each day, no garden should be without one.

What would you have in yours?

In the garden today

Just nipped out to the back garden to have another look at our new bedding set. I love it to bits. Polka dots, ric rac, flowers and stripes. What's not to love?
I bought it yesterday in Primark and I want to put it on the bed at the weekend. It needed a wash through first though because like my dad would say 'you need to take the dressing out of it.'

I really should be out there doing something constructive in the sun but it is such a MESS. G has been working really hard chopping stuff down, breaking things up and generally making a dent into the tidying up that needs to be done.

This is the result of his labours.

There's still plenty of room left in it, which is just as well as there is plenty more where that lot came from.

Blog Friends

All last week the excitement levels at home were building by the day as we edged nearer to Saturday. The reason being I was going to be meeting up in town with two very lovely people, Clare from Summerfete and Diane from Heartshaped.
Clare and I have met up a couple of times in the past for tea, crochet lessons and charity shop browsing, but it was our first date with Diane who had managed to wangle a weekend away with the footballs fans in her family.

Here is Clare with T and S. She very kindly bought them a big bag of mini eggs each and instantly beame their new best friend. Although S did alternate her affections between Diane and Clare depending on whose hand she was holding at the time!

Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of us all together on my camera, you'll have to pop over to Diane's to see that, but this is Diane giving S instructions on how to fly with your coat on a windy day!

My camera stayed in my bag for most of the day, although I did manage to snap something for the scavenger hunt in John Lewis quite late in the day.

We played tourist in your own city (something Diane is exceptionally good at) taking in lots of the historic parts of the City and for the first time ever I walked over this foot bridge and got close up to John Le Fleming, a 14th Century mayor of Southampton, who has been in situ for 20 years!

We walked and talked and ate lunch and talked, we walked and talked some more and then had tea and talked and finally walked and talked round the shopping centre before it was time to say our goodbyes.

A huge thank you to both of my wonderful blog friends for a fabulous day out.

Not forgetting another huge thank you for your gifts.

The prettiest piece of patchwork from Clare, all handsewn

and these were just some of the gifts from Diane.

Talented, generous and brilliant blog friends.

Sleepy Sunday

Just how comfy cosy does Malcolm look?


Guess what I've been doing this afternoon Claire?!
Thanks for mentioning picnik. xx

Florist Window

Whilst on the way back from S's swimming lesson this evening we passed a florist and the window display caught my eye.
A garden of real flowers complete with lots of mini beasts made from craft materials.
I loved this snail with it's shell made from yarn wound round and round

and just look at these toadstools made with lampbases and papier mache tops

I got very excited at the sight of these sandwiches and cakes made from painted sponges.

I may get S to make a couple of these flowers from the cut up inners of kitchen rolls as little gifts on Mother's day for mine and G's mum. One reason being I think they'll like them and another reason I want to have a go and making them too!

Supersize me

Well not actually me.
Just this dress.
I found this in the charity shop I volunteer in on a Wednesday morning.
Isn't it just the cutest little dress?
I want one in this style and in this fabric and I want it now thank you very much.


Look at this lovely close up of the pattern.
How beautiful are those roses?
If I could swoon, I would.

I'm not sure how old it is.

The dress has a stain on it and has a smell about it too, like it's been stored for a long time. It needs a soak in some gentle non-bio washing powder.

The label has yellowed over time and I can't read the make properly as it's a bit torn, something like Prava or Proma?

It states it's for a 7-8 year old but I think S would struggle to get it to fit her at 6.

The instructions on the back read

WASH IN WARM SUDS

DO NOT WRING

IRON WITH A MODERATE IRON

WHILE SLIGHTLY AND EVENLY DAMP.

I love the suds bit and the very precise state it needs to be in for ironing.

Round up

Last week was a bit of a strange one.
S had her birthday party at a soft play centre yesterday and so there was stuff to sort for that. Although I didn't do goody bags as such. There's nothing good about them really is there? Each little girl went home with a little named wrapped package containing a small bar of chocolate and a Disney Princess door hanger/sticker craft pack which cost me 70p for each child. Much better than the £1.50 ones offered by the centre which had a couple of chewy sweets and not a lot else rattling around inside.
G moved office for his job. Not a move he wanted to make, but one he had to make if he wanted to keep his job. All in the name of centralisation and saving money. He now has a short train journey to work.
I went into work on Friday to find that my job is being moved to another office. All in the name of centralisation and saving money. If I go with my job I'll now have to make a short train journey to work.
We are thankful to have jobs, but the restrictions these changes put on us and our family are such a pain.
Chuck in the fact that T didn't get the first preference choice we wanted for his secondary school and so we are working on an appeal, it was an odd week.

Saturday morning I drove up to Salisbury, we had lunch out with G's parents and before we made the journey home again, with G's mum coming back with us, we grabbed an hour to ourselves and went for a wander over to Old Castle.
As you can see from the photos the weather was a bit overcast, but when the sun did come out it was a completely different day.


The low building just right of centre is G's primary school. He feels extremely lucky to have gone to school in such a fabulous location.


This tree has grown this way over the years following the shape of the old moat.

I wonder what this week will bring?