Blueberry Hill Blog

Just love this!

2012-01-27T13:53:00.000-08:00

Was at a business conference today for Phoenix and people have been sharing this poster!

Love it :)

See products and info online at - www.phoenix-trading.eu/web/annewilson

Before I Go To Sleep

2012-01-20T13:06:00.000-08:00

I have finished Water for Elephants - still not terribly fussed by that one - just didn't feel much connection or love or strong emotion of any kind for the characters which is normally key for me. So, anyway I am now reading
Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson, one of Richard and Judy's top picks.

It's a debut, different...again not yet really feeling the love about it and not overly compelled to pick it up but I'm hoping I will get into it more...early days.

**edited. Got more into this, it's pretty good but you can still work the ending out though!

Doves

2012-01-16T08:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we made glittery doves with tissue wings at Sunday Club and coloured in pictures and made a dove collage for the wall. We had yogurt raisins and oranges for snacks - lots of children were away so it was pretty quiet.

Best Friends

2012-01-15T23:24:00.000-08:00

A rare visit from my best friend and her family on Saturday - lunch...one pan chicken, classic cheese and onion pie, potato wedges, celery and apple salad and avocado and cucumber salad followed by pavlova. We walked to the swing park, chatted a little (never enough!) and opened Christmas presents - all lovely and the visit was over all too soon. They had another appointment for dinner and then back to Scotland on Sunday morning.

Martha & Kez

Josh never still!

Tirzah, Kez and Martha

Abi

Paul & Mike comparing woodburning stoves!

Pirates and Princesses

2012-01-15T23:17:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely day back at Nature Tots being pirates and princesses...hats and crowns were made, pirate ship pictures and wands made.

Collecting pieces of eight in the mouse maze

Glittery potions in the field - Martha called hers "Nature Water"

Treasure map

Painting

2012-01-15T00:38:00.000-08:00

We are doing lot of painting these days, rainbows and animals and lots of fish.

Gingerbread Love

2012-01-12T10:09:00.000-08:00

A yummy gingerbread lady left over from our Christmas treats :)

Guests from Oz

2012-01-11T09:19:00.000-08:00

Friends returned from OZ for a trip and popped up to visit in Kenilworth so we had a lovely time catching up with them and meeting their new little baby.

Sunday lunch in town

Lots of friends came to see them

Conference

2012-01-09T13:34:00.000-08:00

Had a great conference at Solihull this weekend for my business - hotel was lovely and talks good. Dinner on Saturday evening was fabulous! Goals for 2012 considered and plans written - I am home feeling inspired!

Twelfth Night

2012-01-05T14:45:00.000-08:00

Martha decides to wear bunny ears to Tesco and when we visit friends for a playdate - we are ready for spring!!

Beautiful tulips to make the house less bare now that the decorations are gone.

Eating up the Christmas chocolate after reading about "Zoe and Beans" going to the north pole and meeting a polar bear.

The Christmas season is over for sure now and I'm quite glad to get the house back to normal and be returning to some routines. I loved the twinkly tree this year and we had a great time but it feels like a new start now that it's all packed and tidied away.

Water for Elephants

2012-01-04T11:33:00.000-08:00

I have been reading Water for Elephants - am almost half way through and it has taken a while for me to get into it. Still not sure what I make of it although I love the circus and find it fascinating. I will persevere and will probably order the DVD to watch from Lovefilm too.

Winter Walk

2012-01-04T11:28:00.001-08:00

We went for a walk on Monday with friends from church. The skies were blue and the sun was bright - it was beautiful...the day before the winds and rain started. We had a good walk, met a horse and went back to a house in Fen End for a shared lunch before heading home.

A new year...

2012-01-02T13:24:00.000-08:00

What will it bring this time?

Last year we had some truly lovely times - family fun, trips away, great strides forward with Martha and new beginnings but we also suffered loss. My lovely friend Ann lost her battle with pancreatic cancer and left behind her husband and three beloved children. Her funeral was both terrible and a wonderful tribute and the days are long without her, for her family and for the rest of us.

We step forward into 2012 thankful for friends, family and faith, memories of times past and hope of times to come.

Grown up Girl

2012-01-02T13:17:00.000-08:00

This holiday we transferred Martha from her cot to her bed. I really didn't want to do this as I fear nap time will be over!! but she was really ready for the move and excited to have her own bed.

She has never really been happy in that cot - when she was born she had a Moses basket then temporarily, a carrycot after we moved and both of those she really liked but she never really settled in this cot and I think it was because Mike put the cot up one day when I was out working and she was popped in without any warning or sense of ceremony.

You would think that the lack of occasion may be a good thing for a little one, a small re-arrangement, a stress-free, easy move but that has not proved to be the case. It's one of the few things she has been unhappy about, ok and accepting but not really happy whereas this bed is really fun for her and she leaps in (and out of) it with great joy!

The Tiger Who Came to Tea

2011-12-31T16:01:00.000-08:00

We have been looking forward to this for many weeks...totally worth the wait.

Martha was enthralled.

It was "as magic as magic can be" and utterly enchanting.

A perfect New Year's Eve outing.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T15:01:00.000-08:00

We have had a lovely couple of days...gifts, food, family, slightly more sleep, movies, walks. Tomorrow we have friends arriving for a meal - we haven't seen them since last Christmas, far too long.

Martha has had a ball...lots of books :) puzzles, crafty things, a Hello Kitty scooter, a beautiful dress, hats, gloves a new baby with nappies!! - she has enjoyed everything and said thank you for everything too, bless!

We had these photos taken at a craft fair recently, completely unplanned and un-lipsticked but fun to remember this time, this year, the stage we are at and be thankful for it all.

Christmas Club

2011-12-22T12:48:00.000-08:00

On Monday 27 children turned up for Christmas Club at church - manic but fun (I think??!!) I did the story on Follow the Star and the children played games, decorated biscuits and baubles, learned to sign a song and had some snacks.

A cold

2011-12-22T12:46:00.000-08:00

We have had a couple of duvet days as Martha caught Mike's cold and has been quite unwell especially at night. Mostly she has been in with me but has been awake :/

We have watched lots of DVDs and eaten fruit and stayed warm in front of the woodburner. Today she was better so we ventured out and dashed about catching up a bit.

Dancing and Games

2011-12-21T06:55:00.000-08:00

Dancing

My cheese tree! People had started eating it before I got a photo!

Our 2011 tree.

Family Christmas

2011-12-21T06:50:00.001-08:00

Our annual family Christmas happened this last weekend with Mike's family. It was really lovel, the only downer being that his brother and family who were travelling down got stuck and had to head back and set off later so they miseed our lunch out and the first evening which was a real shame. We had a lovley meal though and then it was back to our house for dancing, games and supper.

Crackers at the pub.

Yummy food!

Santa & His Reindeer

2011-12-20T02:19:00.000-08:00

We visited on Friday as Santa had come to town. It was very exciting.

Martha still doesn't realise that presents are a part of Christmas which is nice. I explained to her that Santa might ask what she would like for Christmas and when he did ask she replied "A reindeer" Santa was a bit taken aback for a few moments then explained that the reindeer needed to stay with him to help him but could she leave a carrot out for the reindeer on Christmas Eve. She thought carefully about this option then said "Alright"

The 2 year old reindeer baby was called Shanna.

Fortunately Martha's gift was a little reindeer. Santa always knows!!

Scrapping

2011-12-20T02:08:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely Sunday at the start of December and met a horse at Gate Farm!

The Advent calendar returns!

Martha loved the pop-up nativity book.

Our nieces/cousins in their school play.

Having started well with JYC I am now VERY behind. This week I have to sort our own family Christmas and finish off wrapping and shopping and so I am not sure that any more scrapbooking will be done until after Christmas now.

This season has been overwhelmingly busy and I ended up taking on more than planned.

Nature Nativity

2011-12-19T07:10:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely time at our last Nature Tots of the year...making crowns, listening to Amy tell the story, making stained glass cards with tissue paper and colouring a stable picture anf finding stars in the trees that we then decorated and "glittered."

Mince pies and lots of chat

2011-12-19T07:02:00.000-08:00

Lovely times with friends from our music class and lots of conversation and before we knew it 2 hours had passed and we were all running late!

Playfarm

2011-12-15T02:00:00.000-08:00

Three mummies and three littlies had a lovely morning at the Playfarm.

Frankie & Benny's

2011-12-15T00:48:00.000-08:00

We had our annual lunch out with friends at F&B's on Monday which was lovely - lots of chat, lovely pasta and bruschetta and cherry crumble, exchange of presents and a few photos. Martha got a singing mouse from Jan and a balloon from F&B's so she had a marvellous time.

Mad times...

2011-12-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

It's Monday and already I feel I am running late and overwhelmed! After our meal out on Friday which was hectic what with the canapes and the usual nothing-to-wear problems, we tidied the house on Saturday morning, went to view a new car (still undecided) grabbed some lunch out and then went to a Praise Day at church followed by home and more tidying. Next day was church and Sunday Club then a Sunday Club meeting then we had friends over for lunch with 3 lovely kids so it was a mad but fun afternoon. In the evening I did wrapping as we were meeting friends for lunch in Banbury today and somewhere this morning I did a very tiny bit of work, starting at 6am :)
Tonight it's dinner, a Waitrose shopping evening then some accounts work.
My scrapbooking and tax are running behind and I don't know where to find more hours except to give up sleep !!!

Bunches!

2011-12-11T23:28:00.000-08:00

Martha is not too keen on bunches but was persuaded by silver Rudolf bobbles this weekend !

Christmas Meal

2011-12-11T23:25:00.000-08:00

I spent Friday afternoon making around 250 canapes for the Christmas meal at church - I have done this for a few years now and do quite enjoy making them but Martha was keen to know what was going on this year and wasn't having a nap so it was a little tricky!! - still fun though and we had a great night out just Mike and I. Beautiful meal, bubbly, singing, quizzes and fab company. I am always sad when it is over for another year as it is a special night.

We met a Gruffalo....

2011-12-11T23:22:00.000-08:00

.....in Sainsbury's of all places!!

Martha had a quick cuddle with him :)

School Play

2011-12-09T00:50:00.000-08:00

Martha and I went to see our nieces/cousins in their play. Fun! and a lovely performance. Afterwards Martha and I went to the cafe for Orangina and coffee.

The Tree

2011-12-07T12:27:00.000-08:00

Martha made an angel decoration at St Nicks and she hung it by herself on the tree :)

Sunday fun

2011-12-07T12:24:00.000-08:00

After church and Sunday club we headed to Gate Farm craft fair which was lovely. Martha really liked seeing the horses and donkeys..we did shopping, had tea and cakes and then had some impromptu family photos done!!

Late afternoon we went to the Children's Christmas Service at St Nicks which was just lovely. We bumped into a few people we knew including Lily and Jack.

Walking back after the service.

Christmas Tree Festival

2011-12-07T12:16:00.000-08:00

The fair that I did on Saturday was quite quirky and included a tree festival which was pretty and fun.

There were lots of handmade stalls including a Brownie stall where you could "Adopt a Jelly Baby" I was very amused!

The winning tree made of cut out kids' hands.

Pretty wooden decorations & pink fairy tree decorations

Advent

2011-12-03T22:59:00.001-08:00

Lovely to be doing this keepsake calendar again although Martha struggles with "just one a day"!

Finished at Coughton

2011-12-03T22:57:00.000-08:00

Had a great week Phoenixxing here and finished on Friday (although they called Saturday morning to see if I could go back that day too - I couldn't, I was already booked elsewhere) I was well and truly exhausted but it has been a brilliant week, thoroughly enjoyed it and made 2 new friends there too - what a bonus!

As the week progresses the temperature was definitely dropping despite the sunshine and on Friday I just couldn't get warm despite flasks and hot chocolate and layers of clothes so it was good to finish my outdoor selling for the year!

Goodbye Coughton - hope to be back again sometime!

Shimelle's JYC

2011-12-02T00:16:00.000-08:00

Day One of Shimelle's "Journal Your Christmas" included this lovely manifesto. I especially love the reference to The Nutcracker as I have bought a book about The Nutcracker by Alison Jay which is lovely.

I have put it away to read on Christmas Eve along with some treats...starting a new tradition in this house :)

December??!!!

2011-12-01T14:26:00.000-08:00

How did that happen?!

Can't believe it is 1st December. Been working full on this week...decided to do 2 extra days at Coughton so that has thrown the week a bit. Loving it though.

Starting Shimelle's "JYC - Journal Your Christmas" today and am already behind on Day 1 - oops!

Started the keepsake nativity advent calendar with Martha this evening so that was lovely - she didn't understand why she couldn't have all the people and animals today though :)

Meeting Molly

2011-11-29T23:53:00.000-08:00

At the Winter Festival there are 2 birds of prey being shown. My mum and dad brought Martha to see me at work and so we went to meet the birds as Martha is so keen on birds and animals. I held the barn owl which was lovely. She is the same age as Martha and was screeching for her lunch and stretching her wings. Martha was delighted to stroke her neck.

Working Week!

2011-11-29T14:01:00.000-08:00

After a busy weekend when I worked Friday night at a pamper evening with stalls and Saturday and Sunday at the Save the Children fair in Leamington I got home and stocked up again for this week where I have been working at Coughton Court (National Trust) and their Winter Festival.

Really am loving it!

Entrance to the courtyard

My view from my tent...hasn't been too cold (yet!) and local schools come in

everyday to sing carols - just beautiful.

List for Myself

2011-11-25T06:40:00.000-08:00

How can it be the 25th November...it seems only a week or two since summer, maybe 5 in all.

How is it that next week we are opening the Advent calendar again? (we have a keepsake nativity one)

How is it that the next 5 days are my busiest Phoenix days...starting this evening in Leamington I have 5 days trading which I am looking forward to hugely.

How is it that my photos and scrapbooking are waaaaayyyy behind still?

How am I going to fit everything I need to do into the next month and still have fun with the family?

How, how,how?

List to Myself

Finish tax work - yawn, so dull, so pitiful, so boring, so 'got to be done NOW'

Fiddle about with more bread recipes

Try to incorporate spinach into soup without making it into dark green but yummy gloop.

Order photos without delay to be ready to scrap and file into new retro boxes

Prep JYC pages - 31 at least!!

Make Christmas cake

Order photo stickers

Finish shopping for early Christmas deliveries (unusually I am behind with this)

Take cards to show Auntie Wyn

Spend Little Clothes Horse voucher (fairy tin?)

Transfer files and photos from old lappy

Order Christmas tickets

Empty boxes into new, shiny wardrobe

End of month figures for Phoenix

Fan sorted for Wolverhampton yet?
Pay heating engineer

Get extension/conservatory quotes

Thank you letter for Jolly Postman book for Martha

Letter to David

Plant pansies and bulbs

Read through life policy paperwork zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Go to Coventry Co-op for sleigh ride and to see Santa

Get out and about walking

Rebound every day

Read 'Mark'

Make bat biscuits with Martha

Find two lamps for the lounge without needing to take out a mortgage

Tidy bookcases upstairs

Apply to Brambles and Bertie Rd

Open a/c for Martha

Make a gingerbread house (I vowed I never woulds waste a day like this again!)

Get new trousers

Move toy box upstairs and wardrobe into our room.

Breast Cancer Care Coffee Morning

2011-11-24T12:19:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday Martha and I held a little coffee morning for friends, neighbours and people from church. It was a lovely chatty morning with lots of tea and cake. Martha's friends came too and she had a great time playing.

I sold my Phoenix cards and all profits went to the charity.

We raised £70 so I was very pleased.

I made a load of cakes and Martha helped too but my friend Julie came with a tray of the most beautiful cupcakes with the Breast Cancer logo on them - so lovely. She also brought mini Hello Kitty cakes for the littlies and they went down very well :)

I thought it was fab to hold a coffee morning and end up with more cakes than you started with!!

Martha and Lily tuck in!

Busy time.

2011-11-22T11:49:00.000-08:00

This weekend was good but hectic with Mike's parents here to help with wardrobe fitting. We took Grandma to Nature Tots and the NCT second hand sale which was great as we got loads of books, puzzles and I got a few clothes for Martha.

I was also doing Sunday Club, the story was Jonah so we had fun with a basin of water and various props before coming home for Sunday dinner.

We had some nice evenings together but it all seemed to fly past very quickly and before we knew it they were heading home again.
In between this Mike and I have been doing our will so we have had lots of conversations about that and tonight it seemed to come together with the solicitor which I'm hoping means I won't lie awake thinking about it now! We did it under Will Aid which is a great initiative by solicitors for charity. You still pay the same but the charity benefits.

Since the weekend Martha and I have had a play date with a home ed. family here in town and we have also baked lots for our coffee morning today. Martha helped with making the cupcakes.

Wardrobes

2011-11-22T11:22:00.000-08:00

Mike and his dad worked Friday and Saturday to build us some wardrobes. Martha had fun testing the shelves out. We still have to sort the doors but I am just thankful to have these - my first wardrobe since we got married! I thought by now I would have them filled but so far this week I have been too busy and then too tired to do so - soon though they will be filled with all our things :)

Outside in November

2011-11-16T14:28:00.000-08:00

Despite the murky weather we have been having some days are bright enough to get out for a few minutes or even an hour or two to run, play in the sand, dance and giggle.

We are making the most of it :)

Scrapbooking

2011-11-14T14:20:00.000-08:00

I have been scrapbooking for a while but at first it was just a glorified photo album. As time goes on I am more interested in telling 'the story'. Along with blogging and scrapbooking, saving 1000s of photos on a hard drive, Photobox online, and a few boxes of photo files I also write a memory book every once in a while for Martha that records events and also her new words and songs and funny little ways.

I am beginning to think I am obsessed with recording it all....just have to keep checking that we are living life and doing what we need to and choose to and not just madly writing it down. Mostly I think we are. I say to Mike 'we need to stop doing so many things, we are having too much life and I can't keep up with scrapping it all.'

Every now and again I have a burst of making pages and that makes me feel a bit better but I am still trying to catch up all the time :)

I never really thought about putting photos of pages on my blog but I look at other people's so why not? I have done a few pages today inspired by Shimelle Laine as she has been doing a prepping weekend online for her Christmas class. I need to get caught up with the rest of the year before I can fully enjoy that.

I love Martha's expression as she looks at this cake!

This is our niece in January. I had lots of photos from this so copied an idea from

Shimelle's 4 x 6 photo love demos. First time I have made a pocket containing a selection of photos. Loved that! and journalling all tucked in the back too.

Asleep after a fun afternoon. She loves to wear a hat, this one is from Grandma's dressing up box.

New for me too, secret journalling popped in behind the photo, a message for Martha one day.

Love that Martha is wanting to read the Emma Bridgewater catalogue with Mike. I remember this day. We were very amused by her.

This one I love. Oranges, Martha adores them...they were a daily treat all last winter until they were past their best. We are just getting back into them again.

Visitors

2011-11-14T13:52:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday Mike's aunt and uncle contacted us to say they were in the area so we promptly invited them for dinner. We hadn't seen them for over 3 years since before I was pregnant so it was exciting to catch up with them and for them to meet Martha.

Even although I talked about taking photos while they were here we were simply too busy talking so all I have is a picture of the lovely roses that they brought for us.

They are, I suppose you would call them, faith healers which is a fairly new part of their life and has happened since we last saw them so we were really keen to listen to them.

Super-interesting and a fab night. Martha loved it too as she got back downstairs after dinner to join in again!

Hanging out in Starbucks :)

2011-11-13T09:52:00.000-08:00

We go here way too much! Had to pop in after a slow and November-y Saturday yesterday and we had already been a couple of times in the week.

The egg nog latte mix was 'out of stock' for DAYS but it was back yesterday and sorted out all my (tiny) problems in a nanosecond. Amazing stuff!

Also brought home a biscotti and had it with coffee and a glass of Baileys Biscotti version in the evening. YUM!

JYC

2011-11-12T07:43:00.000-08:00

This year I have booked to do my first online scrap class - Journal Your Christmas with Shimelle Laine. I have been deliberating about whether to do a mini book (seriously how would that ever fit Christmas in??! I need a maxi book really!) or to use a 12 x 12 album which is what I normally scrapbook with (generally 2 a year excluding holiday/trip albums).
Anyhow instead I am using a John Lewis wedding album!

I bought two albums in the JL sale last year both £5 (RRP was £25 and £35 respectively) and a little tatty. The one I am using I have ripped all the tissue protector pages out as they we creased and marked, hence the price. You can't see an edge at all where I have pulled these portions out.
I can either make pages and then attch them onto the cream wedding-y paper inside (the size is just less than 12 x 12) or I can journal and embellish right onto the page - scary monsters!

The outside was mainly in good condition except for the corners so I have painted borders with Jenni Bowlin for Ranger Soap Powder dabber and attached ribbon and embellishment - just simple really. Am hoping they stick ok long term.

I am journalling for 31 days - from 1st Dec to the end of the year. Whilst we celebrate NY Day and are still doing holiday things I like to start my new year scrapbook off by detailing those events.

Roll on Journal Your Christmas - can't wait to start it!

Nature Tots Time

2011-11-12T07:02:00.000-08:00

We had another great morning at Nature Tots, walking, collecting things and ticking them off

( I Spy an Animal!) and visiting a bird hide where we saw tufted ducks,

Canada geese, swans and a heron.

Martha looking through the window in the bird hide.

She got to use real binoculars and also they made some paper ones too.

Gruffalo Bread

2011-11-11T04:02:00.000-08:00

We had fun this week making Gruffalo bread, I'd seen someone make dinosaur bread once so thought this might be fun as we have been reading the book and watching it on You Tube.
We went and bought everything - I chose Waitrose Love Life mixed seed flour - and prepared it all then measured and we made it together. Martha enjoyed kneading the dough and putting the prickles in his back - we used sunflower seeds. I used a few almonds, including one cut in half to make his "terrible tusks" although apricots might be good for his orange eyes, I just used almonds.
It was a useful activity and Martha liked eating it too.

Vaguely resembling a Gruffalo!

Sparkly Bonfire Nights

2011-11-10T12:14:00.000-08:00

The Kenilworth fireworks draw a great crowd. We walked up with friends to the war memorial and watched the display before heading home for a late dinner. Martha liked them but I think she enjoyed the people-watching even more!

My camera never takes a good firework photo...one day I will splash out and upgrade.

Martha at Abbey Fields out late!

Our friends brought these lovely miniature gladioli.

In the garden this evening, running about in the dark, twirling sparklers and breathing in the smoky November air - quite enchanting really.

A sparkly evening!

Red Cups

2011-11-09T13:57:00.000-08:00

The red cups at Starbucks are in and I can't even count how many I have had this year already. Plus I have tried egg nog lattes for the first time (the name put me off even though I love eggs) and they are amazing and addictive.

The red cups are not even really coffee...the strong coffee hit isn't there...instead it's like drinking Christmas in a cup.

We love books!

2011-11-08T06:29:00.000-08:00

We love going to the library in town. There's a special wooden chair for children to sit in and read (often there is a queue for it) We go most weeks and Martha loves it. The library is dangerously near to Starbucks so we often stock up on new books then read them over drinks and cake across the road.
There is a new system for encouraging children now too. Previously you collected a sticker every visit and when you got 4 you could claim a certificate now it is a bear paw stamp that you collect and you need 6 paws to get a certificate. You also get a nice folder and membership card for the Bookstart Bear Club. All in all lovely ways to instill a love of books in little ones.

Kenilworth Castle

2011-11-02T15:46:00.000-07:00

Martha and I met some friends and had a morning out at Kenilworth Castle.

Fab weather, fun and chat, Halloween decorations, coffee and lavender cake in the cafe. Perfect!

Pie and Peas Party in Oxford

2011-11-02T15:42:00.000-07:00

The children all loved dressing up for the annual family party in Oxford

My sister-in-law was a fab witch!

Mike & Martha have a swing.

Happy Girl

2011-10-27T15:02:00.000-07:00

We ate a few meals at the pub across from our B&B. Martha chose chocolate ice cream for pudding one night and it came with dolly mixtures which she had never seen before - quite thrilling when you are 2 years old!

Potter in Painswick

2011-10-27T14:56:00.000-07:00

Another place we visited was Painswick, a Cotswold town I have long wanted to see.

I would have liked to see the Rococo Gardens too but we ran out of time so will have to pop back for a look another day.

The trees in the churchyard

A cute shop {I should have bought the vintage eiderdown, it was such a good price!!}

A sunny spot

The 1471 Deli in Tewkesbury

2011-10-26T05:44:00.000-07:00

The 1471 deli - named after a local battle apparently. What a fab place this was! A real Aladdin's cave. I just popped in for some bread to take home from our weekend away - got a campagne loaf which we have sadly finished today, it was gorgeous. I also got a takeaway coffee which is rare as I find those takeaway cups horrible really but the coffee was GOOD!

Years ago Mike and I had a date in Tewkesbury and I wasn't keen on the place at all....so I was not too excited to be visiting again over this weekend but either it has changed a lot in 7 years or I just had a totally different experience but it was lovely and I look forward to going again. So nice to rediscover somewhere and find it's much better!

Weekend Away

2011-10-25T14:46:00.000-07:00

A lovely family trip into the Cotswolds at a B&B only 40 minutes drive...

bliss, comfy beds, breakfast served to us and beautiful October weather.

Tewkesbury Abbey - really enjoyed visiting this.

A trip on the river

Calm, October Saturday

I am very pleased my parents made it to 50 years and we got to go celebrate their anniversary!

Herbert Gallery, Coventry

2011-10-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

We met a new group and went to the Walking with Beasts exhibition which was fun and different.

The actual gallery was excellent, dressing up for kids, puppets, an elements sensory room which was lovely, a play area, the story of Lady Godiva and Peeping Tom.

A hanging puppet display

Heading home past the Cathedral which was bombed during the war. Despite living so near I had never seen the Cathedral (as I can't abide driving in Coventry) and it is pretty awesome. This trip was no less traumatic but I would brave it again for this gallery.

Tiger for Tea

2011-10-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

Have just booked tickets to see The Tiger Who Came To Tea at Warwick Arts Centre after Christmas....we are so excited! The trailer looks excellent and Martha already wants to watch the clip every day. We have the book but I am keeping it for Christmas to read it just before we go.

October Celebrations

2011-10-19T11:17:00.000-07:00

We celebrated my Dad's birthday.

Martha and I made a cake and we had a lovely afternoon then sent my parents off to hear the Warwickshire Boys Choir in Leamington Spa

(they were finalists in 2010)

Mike and I celebrated 5 years of being married.

Martha and I made anniversary cakes for Daddy. As I have a back problem at the moment we didn't go out for our meal instead we called for a takeaway but it wasn't that great. Never mind, we had flowers and cake, what more do you need!

The biggest celebration this month has been my parents' Golden Wedding - 50 years!!!

We had a lovely evening meal with them and Martha loved the sparklers on the dessert and saying "cheers" with the mimosas.

A few balloons and Martha is straight into party mode!

Cutting the cake! This was a gorgeous cake from a local baker.

Nature Tots at Brandon Marsh

2011-10-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

We are both just loving the new group we go to every week at the wildlife trust. It's so great to be outside and for the wee ones to be discovering nature and doing crafty things too.

Being a fox in the woods.

Searching for butterflies ( we found several comma butterflies)

Pond dipping

Brandon Marsh - so peaceful

Legoland

2011-09-12T06:14:00.000-07:00

Buckingham Palace at Legoland, complete with the Royal Wedding!

Stonehenge

London at Miniland, Legoland

The gherkin, London

Windsor

2011-09-12T06:03:00.000-07:00

Pictures from the Windsor camping trip, lovely days but we need a bigger tent!!!

This camping lark...

2011-09-02T12:44:00.000-07:00

Martha and I are enjoying this new camping experience so we decide to go again this time with Mike too. I had a conference with Tom Barrett to go to in Bracknell so we camped up in Windsor so that Mike and Martha could walk into town there and I could go off in the car to the conference.

Martha and I enjoyed it again but Mike wasn't convinced!

Days with Friends

2011-09-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

We caught up with S&D who we hadn't seen for a long time, had a great walk, lunch, cake and conversations then dinner and home.

Martha loved the cake :)

Summer Club

2011-09-02T12:36:00.000-07:00

We helped with summer club at church which was a lot of fun.

Lots of kids came and joined in for "Seaside Stories"

Lots of creative activities as well as games and drama.

Martha was officially too young but she joined in and had a fantastic week!

Buckets for the kids to take away with them.

Norfolk

2011-09-02T12:29:00.000-07:00

My friend was going camping with her dog in Norfolk and somehow I ended up taking our tent and Martha and I went along too.

Unfortunately I had a chest infection so was feeling rather low and this made life a little tricky while camping but as the days went on I improved and we had a good time.

Relaxed, beach, Cromer pier, sitting in the sun reading, easy cooking and good sleeping.

Perfect really!

The beach was about a mile from the campsite (this was a lot for me feeling unwell!) but we made it and it was lovely.

Cromer Pier in the rain

Our little tent

Dinner on the last night, Martha munching sweetcorn!

Vintage Fair Visit

2011-08-12T12:58:00.000-07:00

At the weekend I headed to Stratford to a vintage fair which I had spotted online while looking for autumn fairs to book for my own business.

It was set up really beautifully at the entrance and looked tempting but I was disappointed to find lots of 1980s stuff which for me is just not old enough to count as vintage!

There were piles of clothes and jewellery but not as many homewares and quirky items as I would like plus lots of things were not priced and I just can't be bothered with that. I'm not too shy to ask and I'm not worried about saying "no thank you" if the price is not right for me...I simply don't want to ask 20-odd times, "how much is this?" ..."and this?"..."and these?" So I left with all the pennies in my pocket and headed to a Hathaways Tea Rooms opposite Shakespeare's birthplace.

I do love going back to Stratford. It seems like a long way back when I lived here and could wander around in the evenings when all the tourists had gone. Mike and I started going out when I lived here and would walk by the river and round Holy Trinity church. Happy days!

Camper van!

Cute sign!

The bell tent in the centre had a stall selling cupcakes - I resisted. They were pretty though!

Cotswold Wildlife Park

2011-08-11T23:23:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Burford for the Cotswold Wildlife Park was amazing. My dad had wanted to take Martha for months as she loves animals and my uncle and cousin's visit was the perfect opportunity. So we all headed off in 2 cars complete with picnic (although forgot the plates so we had to stop in Stow to buy some paper ones...)

The proximity of the animals was fantastic, the train ride round was good, the guidebook well worth the money and I popped into the shop for 5 minutes to see if there was anything good that I could tuck away. They had the Schleich animals so I got 3 that we had seen that day, a zebra-print windmill and an activity book that I will put away for future called "Things to do on a Camping Trip".

My dad and Martha looking in at the lions.

The meerkats were funny but a little shy.

Bar-B-Q

2011-08-11T07:29:00.000-07:00

My uncle and cousin are staying with my parents at the moment so they all came over for a BBQ and a chat.

The day started grey and unpromising but by the evening the weather was lovely.

We had fab Aberdeen Angus burgers and sausages from Waitrose - I love Waitrose :) - and salad from the garden, sweetcorn and minted buttery baby potatoes followed by strawberries with lavender sugar and cream.

Clan gathering in Wales

2011-08-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

Every year we have a holiday in Barmouth with Mike's parents and all the children and grandchildren. This year Martha was able to really get involved and enjoy it all. She talked for weeks about going on a donkey on the beach so we did that first and she was really happy to get up on the donkey and go!

A waffle, bananas and turkish delight ice cream at the very pink Knickerbocker cafe on the front. Lovely! I also sampled the snickers milkshake there and it was a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!

Martha on the Rupert car

On the merry-go-round at the funfair

The house we go to is right opposite the beach, a few minutes from the shops and near the funfair - just fab for little ones and big ones too :)

Sunny garden days

2011-07-27T14:19:00.000-07:00

Camper van eggs in the garden for lunch.

Playing with windmills

Charlecote Nursery

2011-07-22T06:10:00.000-07:00

This summer I have had a few trips to Charlecote Nursery which is just so lovely - it's across from the National Trust house (Charlecote Park where the Lucy family lived - fabulous orangery tearoom and croquet on the lawn if you wish) and is worth a wander and a plant purchase or two, they also sell fruit, veg and ice cream and fresh bunches of flowers that are grown there.
Definitely a great choice for a simple daycation.

I'm really getting hooked on the camping lark - having borrowed the Cool Camping Scotland book from the library I am now planning a trip to Norfolk with a friend - we are spoilt for choice on where to stay - all the campsites on the website look so unique and inviting and many allow campfires which is fab. We will take 2 tents and she will take her dog and I will have Martha so it should work out pretty well.

I told Martha we were planning a trip next month and she said "I take my boots" so she is all set to go!

Books, baking & bags

2011-07-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

Martha and I had a trip to the library which Martha loves - so much so, that she had a little meltdown when we were leaving as she wanted to "stay inna libey" so we had to forego the usual sticker to make a point about good behaviour!

Today we returned nice and quietly and got the sticker of course!

Before we scuttled out yesterday I managed to borrow a book for myself "Cool Camping" which is lovely as it shows many of the places we visited during our holiday.

Martha got a great haul of books which will be read several times and returned for a new batch very soon.

We also made our first batch of bread - I have wanted to make bread for years so I have finally done it. The mixture was stickier than I imagined so I will tweak it a little. I followed the recipe from TheQuinceTree65

Homemade bread is always so yummy.

I have frozen most of it to stop me eating it all straight away.

Popped into Leamington and spotted this bag which feels so holiday-ish that I had to buy it.

Birthday at Knaresborough

2011-07-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

Knaresborough was the perfect place for a picnic to celebrate Mike's birthday. It was really hot! The one day in the last week or so that was like proper summer. Mike's mum made a lovely chocolate cake for him and we ate it by the river after lunch.

Martha loves cake! When anyone is having a birthday she is always excited about the "special cakey" I love it that she is excited about that rather than presents and stuff although I'm sure that time will come.

If we can keep her thinking that birthdays are about treats and celebration rather than getting things then that would be great.

The River Nidd at Knaresborough

Martha and I also made cake for Daddy which we had when we got home

The birthday boy sporting his mum's sunhat.

Happy Birthday Mike - have a happy year xxx

Weekend at HQ

2011-07-18T08:48:00.000-07:00

We went for a lovely, long weekend in Yorkshire to visit Mike's parents. The weather was good and we took a trip to Goathland, famous for steam trains a few of which we watched and also the location of Aidensfield the town which featured in Heartbeat.

We stopped off in Pickering on the way home where we had spent a few days on honeymoon. Nice to pop back and have another look.

Martha had a lovely time with Grandma and Grandpa, playing in their garden, having stories and dancing to Grandpa's piano playing.

We returned home to Warwickshire on an AA truck which was an extra thrill for her!

Water, water everywhere....

2011-07-11T14:10:00.000-07:00

Here in leafy Warwickshire we are miles from any water with the exception of the canals.

In Scotland we saw an abundance of loch, river and sea views, all awesome. I think I took that for granted when I lived there and realise now how much I miss it. The area where we live now is very beautiful but in a completely different way.

Glen Etive

Bay on Ardnamurchan Peninsula

Picnic spot overlooking the sea

View from the Fort William to Mallaig train journey.

Glencoe Lochan

Baking and Helping

2011-07-10T11:49:00.000-07:00

It's only recently that I first baked with Martha - naturally we made fairy cakes but she was not at all happy that we had to wait 12 minutes or so while they baked before we could eat them.

This time I thought crispy cakes would be good as they are almost instant.

Testing - fortunately it was only the 3 of us who were going to be eating the finished product!

Happiness is a chocolatey face :)

Chocolate crispy cakes with white buttons.

Glencoe

2011-07-09T23:46:00.000-07:00

The first week of our holiday was spent in Glencoe. We arrived in torrential rain, the mountains encircling us and it did seem a bleak and haunting place.

Glencoe village was just a short riverside walk from our house and was cute and friendly.

The Massacre Monument was near the house and commemorates where many of the MacDonald clan were led to their deaths. My clan on my mum's side is MacDonald and despite not being hugely interested in that sort of thing it did make me feel a little odd to be there. Some years ago my mum and I also felt moved at Finlaggan on Islay which was the seat of the MacDonald chiefs.

We went twice to the NTS Glencoe Visitor Centre which was done really well and the actual location was lovely, very contemporary with a good shop and cafe.

I love Glasgow in the rain

2011-07-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

This is the second summer where we have stopped off at the art gallery on our way through Glasgow. I just love stopping in the city and seeing places that are so familiar to me and that I never get a chance to visit properly now.

Martha loves all the animals on display, Mike loved the organ recital this year (they play every day at 1pm which is so impressive) and I love the paintings.

Last year The Glasgow Boys exhibition was showing and I thought it was utterly fabulous whereas I had heard others complain it was too crushed and dark - but if you just shut yourself off and looked at these paintings they are full of greatness and social history and exotics and a picture in time all rolled into one, not too mention the technical/physical talent.

This year I met a friend (the husbands and kids all wandered and we had an hour or so catch-up) and we had a quick run round the Glasgow art area together which was lovely - lots of Rennie Macintosh and Margaret Macdonald and Jessie King work.

It was drizzling in Glasgow, same as last year, but still beautiful....tinseltown in the rain.

Giffords Circus - War & Peace

2011-07-07T13:25:00.000-07:00

Before we headed off on holiday Martha and I had an afternoon out at Giffords Circus -this was a dream come true for me as I had wanted to see this for a long time!
It was spectacular, even better than I had imagined. Martha wasn't quite so sure and I realised I was being a bit ambitious taking her this young especially without Mike but she did love the horses and birds - she is a real animal-loving girl.

Amazing acrobatics

The girls selling during the interval also blew bubbles - totally enchanting.

2011-07-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

We have had the most amazing trip to Scotland, visiting lots of places that I have never been before and then back to our favourite place to be. So many good times in 1888 miles!

Martha had a fab time especially as my parents were with us which she was thrilled about.

We crammed so much in that I feel I need another week off to recover, am finding it super-hard to get back into normal life (whatever that is?!)

Ah, summer holidays - aren't they just The Best!!

2 Years On

2011-07-04T02:51:00.000-07:00

We had the Butterfly Tea Party and the next day found ourselves digging out the sandpit for Martha's birthday. I have good memories of my own sandpit being dug out for me so wanted to re-create that for Martha and give her a fun place to play.

Martha loved it - we unveiled it on her birthday afternoon and she started playing right away!

The sandpit birthday cake!

One of Martha's birthday presents was a music set which she got into straight away!

We had a really special day celebrating her turning 2 years old!

May 2011

2011-05-31T05:59:00.000-07:00

Mike's parents came for a long weekend - his dad helped finish off the patio. This has been a big project and I can't believe how much Mike knuckled down and got it done!! Martha had a fab time with them, especially Grandma who was hardly left alone for a minute.

More of the family came to tea and to see his parents - his brother and sister-in-law and their two kids and his aunt, uncle and cousin. It was sunny we sat out and ate and chatted. Lovely times.

We held another garden party for Children's Hospices - lots of family, friends, neighbours and "mummy friends" came and ate cakes and drank Pimms they bought plants, my Phoenix cards, second-hand books and donated to this worthy cause. It was a lovely afternoon and the weather was kind for a few hours.

Scones made and donated by my Dad, chocolate and cherry cake, sparkly cupcakes, brownies donated by my friend Julie aka The Brownie Fairy -they were sitting on my doorstep on the morning of the party - freshly baked, gooey and melting!

Martha with her Grandpa (Dee-Dee Mamps because he plays the piano!)

An evening with Jodi

2011-05-31T05:53:00.000-07:00

Went to Warwick School to hear Jodi Picoult talk about her latest book "Sing You Home" on her 'Tunes & Tiaras' tour!

It was an interesting evening and I had a little chat with her afterwards when we got books signed as she had made a joke during the evening about Glaswegians' accents and their love of deep fried Mars bars.

I haven't read the book yet or the one before yet...I'm a bit behind these days!

Garden Fun & A Day Out with Thomas

2011-05-31T05:39:00.000-07:00

I got an outfit for Martha this spring from Belle & Boo - we totally love it as we do love rabbits in this house. It was fun for her to wear over Easter. The top and skirt are reversibile and the skirt has "April showers" all over it - brollies and bunnies, very sweet. I keep looking at the website to tempt myself with more...

We had a fab day out with Thomas (or Tommy as Martha calls him). We drove up to Shackerstone Railway which was quaint and in lovely countryside and the atmosphere and excitement was great without being a much-too-busy-nightmare. A lovely day out with stickers, storytelling and chat with the Fat Controller.

Fun times in the garden playing with water, a ball, a bit of digging and watering, running and being pushed on the scooter.

Morecambe

2011-04-07T13:25:00.001-07:00

This is a good stopping off point for us on our way south again. We can walk on the beach, pick up stones, have a picnic and feel like we have had an adventure as part of our journey. Lovely views and fresh sea air.

Scotland

2011-04-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

Martha found a hat to wear.

Saturday morning.

We had a quick trip to Scotland - almost didn't make it because of colds. Abi looked after us fantastically with lovely food and friends over for dinner and walks.

We got to meet my cousin's baby who is squishy and adorable. Happy times :)

Broomycroft Farm

2011-04-07T12:37:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely outing here despite the grey drizzly day (meant it was quiet at least) Lots of sheep, goats, donkeys, horses, chickens, rabbits and ducks. It was a bit muddy and I wished I had my wellies but it was so much fun for Martha. We bought animal feed and she loved that we were giving them "dinna".

A pink pony came to live with us...

2011-03-09T12:08:00.000-08:00

Friends that we didn't get to see over Christmas because of various illnesses met us in Banbury last week. We had lunch and a catch-up and they gave Martha this very pink rocking pony!!! It's just fab! I would never contemplate buying her something like this (boring mummy!) but she just loves it. When Mike was assembling it Martha was there with the screwdriver trying to help!

You squeeze the ears and it clip-clops and neighs and a red heart flashes on it and the mouth opens - Martha is just enchanted with it all. She rides on it and sings "Seesaw Margery Daw" which comes out as "maddery daw" and all the dollies and the monkey get a ride on it too.

Dinner with Friends

2011-03-09T12:05:00.000-08:00

Went out to dinner locally with Lynn and Julie and had a lovely evening - the food was cooked to perfection and the tiramisu was divine! We also sneaked in a couple of starters to share and a bottle of way-too-nice wine! Lovely times.

Birthday loveliness

2011-03-09T11:46:00.000-08:00

Birthday dinner in Leamington Spa

Cupcakes at the Yew Tree Cafe

Canal boats by the aquaduct

Vietnamese sushi

Birthday teapot

I celebrated my birthday at the beginning of the month and I really enjoyed it! Lots of lovely presents arrived mostly in the mail - a new lovely fuschia-coloured handbag, Benefit make-up, shoes from Next, a Gino cookbook, a case of bath goodies, Amazon vouchers - I was thoroughly spoilt.
On the day we went to music class, had sushi for lunch, chatted on the phone to several people then Martha and I met a friend with her little boy and we walked by the canal and went to a cafe at a craft centre at Wootton Wawen. The next day I had lunch out at our local Christian cafe with my parents (lovely there and very child-friendly) and that night Mike and I finally made it to see the King's Speech with dinner at Pizza Express beforehand (I love that place :))- it really was a fun couple of days.

A round up of February

2011-03-01T11:08:00.000-08:00

February has been a nice month for us, lots of business success for me and hard work. I was very structured and disciplined and it really paid off. I worked pretty much every Saturday morning doing stalls which was good and Martha got to spend time with Dad. Martha and I also went to lots of weekday kiddie groups and had a lovely time with everyone.
We celebrated Valentine's which was really nice and quite fun. Martha made her first craft item at playgroup - a hanging card heart but she wasn't too keen to hand it over to Daddy so we hung it in her room!
This month we had a few friends for dinner - Uncle B & Auntie F and Hazel who came to Sunday lunch (and brought amazing jam and hyacinths and wine - lovely treats), friends Sue and Daz came for curry & a catch up just this weekend and a couple (Lou and Dave) came with their boys too for us to get to know them a little better. Also old friends Andy and Caroline came - we hadn't seen them for years so that was a big catch up time...definitely need to do that again soon.
I caught up with some scrapbooking and Mike got some log chopping done and we sorted out a few things in the house. The month has flown by and now it's March 1st already.

A nice time at soft play with friends. Martha was only keen to dress up when she saw the Thomas outfit.

Still loving a hat - Martha steals her Dad's hat as soon as he is home from work.

We nipped into the Monday coffee morning at church to sample a pink cake - yum!

I can reach the veg basket!

Mike and I had dinner together on Valentine's night - steak and mash and minted veg followed by melt in the middle chocolate puds (all courtesy of Waitrose!) It was lovely not to cook - just fling it all in the oven. And a bottle of prosecco ensured I was asleep by 9pm, how romantic!!

My first attempt at Red Velvet cupcakes for Valentine's Day - red sponge and cream cheese frosting, pretty good!

We loved The Blue Train music at our Musical ABC class. It is all played by recorders. On the last day of term every child joined in with the music while bubbles were blown all around to imitate the steam from the train - pretty special for little ones!

A new find - Martha loves her sticker books and they keep her amused for ages. It's good when I am doing a few work things at the dining table. Having a business that allows me to be home for Martha is great but it does mean that I do need to do some daytime stuff from time to time. I do feel really fortunate that I can be flexible though - REALLY fortunate!

A choo choo train in the park and the doggy hat that Martha loves with long black ears! We met some new friends and talked to lots of dogs out for walks. Fun times!

Scones

2011-02-10T12:16:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling a little late to the game here but I have gotten much better at scones lately. Lots of recipes state buttermilk but I've been making mine with yogurt - either plain / O% / flavoured - and the scones are so much lighter.

Recently I made them with blueberries and raspberries and the yogurt and they were really good like a cross between a cake and a scone.

This is roughly the recipe although I don't actually weigh it out....

8oz flour

2 oz butter/marg

2oz caster sugar

1 egg

a glugg of skimmed milk

2/3 tblsp yogurt

berries (optional)

Bake at 160 for 10/12 minutes (depending on your oven). Serve warm with butter.

"onny"

2011-02-10T12:06:00.000-08:00

One of Martha's absolute favourite things are tangerines - she calls them "onny" (orange)

At the weekend she went into the kitchen and managed to reach a bag of them and escaped to the stairs (with a hat on - she loves to wear a hat!) trying to get into them. She then handed the bag to my dad and waited with her little hands clasped to have one peeled for her.

Growing

2011-02-06T13:23:00.001-08:00

Our girl is growing and has started little sentences. This weekend she very helpfully transferred a load of card/paper recycling into the general bin saying each time "going in a bin" I only transferred it back after she had gone to bed as she was having such a nice time!

Martha and the dollies have a banana snack.

The beautiful bulbs that our neighbour brought for us when she came to dinner...they seem to grow every morning.

Round up of January

2011-02-04T07:44:00.000-08:00

Never before has a month seemed to fly by so fast!! It's been a fab start to the year...we seem to be gettting on top of a few things - paperwork (some, not all) plus my business is going great guns and I feel more organised with storage for that too.

And amazingly my food shopping seems to be really working out - lots of freezer food and my beloved Abel & Cole organic order have been so great this month. I've planned a weeks' worth of menus and pretty much stuck to it. Just got into a great routine with it all. I think I have saved quite a bit too which is good as things are a tad tight due to a non-paying tenant (not easy to pay for someone else to live in your house for 3 months!)

I am managing to not spend and not even visit the charity shops (well...only one day of rummaging!) although I am being tempted by Emma Bridgewater again and new shiny pottery - even the brochure is such a treat to read. Maybe in March I will think about a teeny spend in her online shop.

Twice I've made sticky pudding with dates that I got in my weekly box. I'm not keen on eating dates but they do make an amazing pudding. The recipe is much easier than it looks and the results are good.

Also we celebrated Burns' night at church - wonderful haggis and I got to say the Selkirk Grace which is lovely.

We had a friend to dinner last night, one of our neighbours and she brought me a huge bowl of fabulous hyacinths - they are not in bloom yet but their heather-coloured papery skins look amazing just as they are.

All in all a good start to 2011 and now onto February!