Attic24

From April into May

Hello my sweet people, so good to be here! I said to J this morning (in my best don't-mess-with-me voice) that I simply had to steal a patch of time away in the Attic to catch my breath and reconnect with my bloglett. I declared it to be Absolutely Essential, and he had the good grace to understand so here I am. I try not to let it get me down but my goodness I do MISS my bloggin time! I feel the days and weeks slip-sliding through my fingers and the precious memories fading and getting lost and forgotten in the hubbub of busy family life and I begin to feel a kind of mild panic creep in. There is always so much that I want/need to record and remember and preserve for the future, all the little itty-bits of life that make me happy/glad/inspired/thankful. So today I'm going to attempt a very quick catch-up through the past few weeks.....jeez it's been quite crazy around here, although I must stress that it's been an extremely good kind of crazy.

Back we go then, back into the tail end of last month......as most of you know, on Friday 29th April we celebrated a Royal Wedding in the UK. Here in Attic Town it was all looking very jolly indeed with many streets decked out with bunting and flags. Two weeks on and they are still in place, which has pleased me no end! It's been especially nice to hear the sound of a town in celebration :: due to very high winds the flags have been flapping with gusto and it's a sound I really adore. I think some long forgotten childhood memories are tied up with the sound of bunting flapping in the breeze, it makes me feel like skipping when I hear it (I restrained myself in the town centre last week, think a skipping forty two year old would have caused a stir).

Friday 29th April also happened to be a Birthday Day too, as Little Lady became a Seven year old. We celebrated by allowing her to choose the days activities (a family picnic at Bolton Abbey followed by an exhausting stint at a local soft play centre), and so in a way the events of the Royal Wedding kind of passed us by that day. Our Little Lady turning seven was more important, and I think she had a memorable day.

The day after the Royal Wedding and Little Lady's Birthday was the start of our UK "May Day" holiday weekend. This weekend is also the time for our towns annual Waterways festival, which I've come to really look forward to each year. It's a magical time, with lots of extra visitors flocking in to enjoy the festivities. You walk around and feel the party atmosphere in the air. Music plays, people dress up and dance, flags fly, flowers bloom, boats sail in and out and it's all very colourful and happy and upbeat.

I took a few snaps as I was out and about that day, the cheeriness of the dressed-up boats was so lovely!

All the pretty decorative details gave me a huge rush of inspiration actually. Made me determined to plan some prettifying of  my own little back yard space which was sadly neglected last year due to a small baby-shaped somebody who took up all my time and energy.

Ahhhh the delights of coloured bunting flags, such wonderful feel-good eye candy!

So that was April, wwheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, it went so fast! It was a fabulous month, we had amazing weather, a wonderful holiday by the sea, lots of picnics and outdoor jaunts, and Little B took to his feet. Bliss. I also did a lot of hooky in April....I've not had the time to show you much of what I've been up to lately, but I've been having loooads of fun with my hook. Loads I tell ya! I've been working on various decorative bits and bobs, and ooo it's been making me so happy! I don't mean to tease you, I promise faithfully that all WILL be revealed very very soon. I am really looking forward to sharing it with you. But first things first...you'll be getting a dose of Dorset next week before the hooky comes along, if that's OK with you?

May is officially my Most Favouritist Month of the Year. I just squeeeee with excitement when I turn over the pages of my calendars and view May. For me, it's a month of pure happiness....the greening up of the countryside, bluebells, fresh English Asparagus and the first English Strawberries, a month of picnics and time spent outdoors, long light days and warm sunshine.

Hmmmm...not sure why exactly there is a simnel cake on the May calendar page?? I always thought simnel cakes were for Easter, but no matter.....I'm thinking it's an age since I baked a full cake, the kind that can sit proudly on a cake stand and be sliced into with some ceremony. So I think I shall make-it-so in May. I can see a carrot cake in my very near future, oohh I'm smacking my lips at the very thought of it!

We are now two weeks into May and the weather here in my patch has been extraordinary. We had some terrific sunshine early on in the month, the sky was the bluest blue and for a week or so it forgot how to make clouds. There were no clouds for days on end.

But it's been windy, my goodness, even though the sun shone it's little heart out the wind was something else. We've eaten out a lot already this month (picnics-r-us) and our trusty windbreak has seen some hammer. The above photo was taken on the first day of May, we were up in the Dales picnicking beside the river at Hubberholme....

....lots of watery fun for the Little People and hunkering down beneath the windbreak for us Big People.

What else....oh yes, I enjoyed my annual visit to my favourite plant nursery and filled the boot of the car with lots of colourful floral goodness for my back yard. I managed to plant up most of my big pots before a very heavy storm rolled in and stopped play. It was quite spectacular  with great flashes of lightening, rolling thunder and huge ploppy rain drops, and although I fretted over the safety of my newly planted little plantlets, at least I was saved the job of watering them all in.

I've not had chance to take many pics of outside yet, but I'll try and show you my progress on prettifying my back yard. I've got plans you see. For decorative things out there. It's coming on a treat.

Now before I go sink a mug of fresh coffee, let me show you the first-day-of-May view from the Attic window..........

.......it was a glorious, glorious late spring/early summer's day. Blue, blue sky (no clouds) and a magical kind of glowy happy brightness of light. Sigh. I adore this time of year. So much.

♥ see you again soon, I'll be bringing you sea breezes and coastal tales before they fade from my memory xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 2011

When I was out in the park gathering twigs for my hooky hearts a little while ago, I ended up with a few too many. Rather than sling them out, I popped them into little water filled glass bottles/jars and dotted them about the house on windowsills. Slowly over the past few weeks, the buds have begun to open and unfurl and I have been amazed. Truly. How wonderful Nature is, its ace!!! The above twig is in the bathroom and is a cherry....ooooooo there are buds, there are buds!! And soon enough there may even be blossom!! My very own Bathroom Blossom!!!!

These twigs are on my kitchen windowsill, the leaf buds were tight shut when I first put them there, but now they are in full flow and it's like having a mini tree growing indoors. The green of fresh new leaves is sooooooooooooo beautiful, it's wonderfully vibrant and I love it. I'm so glad that here in my patch we are well and truly into the Spring season now, I adore this time of year.

April, April, I could blow you a thousand kisses just for being you!! Isn't the above picture so impossibly pretty? Its from the Ideal Home calendar, beautifully inspiring as ever. I think I will copy this sweet idea and pop some blooms into egg shells this Easter. I've got quite a few egg cups about the place, I'll try and round them up in preparation.

This is the April page on my Laura Ashley calendar, reminding us that Easter time will be coming soon and I for one Cannot Wait. I love Easter. Love decorating for it and celebrating it, but best of all I love that every Easter we jaunt down to visit my folks by the sea. I've missed the sea so much, I'm craving it. I'm writing this and in my head I'm reciting bits of that Sea Poem, you know the one..."I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied..." Yeah, I feel it a-calling for sure. No, not going to deny it either. Take me to it.

I purchased Eggs last week, of the mini speckled chocolate variety, nom-nom I have a huge weakness for these little things. It's marvelous to have a glass jar of these loitering about the place to provide a welcome chocolate hit when the need arises. It's been quite a frequent need this week, I always crave chocolate when the stress levels rise :: by stress I mean the low-grade variety caused by Small People with Very High Temperatures. Little B is coming through a very horrid cold/virussy thing combined with cutting his pre-molars, ouch. He has been utterly miserable, poor mite. Chocolate eggs have been entirely necessary (for me, not him).

Talking of Little B....I am happy to announce that he is now a fully fledged Toddler, complete with the most cutesome little buckle-up boy shoes. He took his first tentative toddling steps about three weeks ago and it has been absolutely joyful for all concerned. We've not walked far outside yet, just up and down our street a bit, with some daily pottering about in the back yard. I've taught him how to handle a sweeping brush and how to stack flower pots and how to pass me pegs as I hang out the laundry, so it's all good. We like pottering outside together, I foresee much of that going on this Spring.

A couple new purchases for April, I do like to treat myself to a wee Supermarket Sweep every so often. I bought a new mug which is almost my Ultimate Favourite Colour of All Time but not quite. It's a bit more duck-egg than Tiffany, but it's spotty and fresh and spring-like and I like it. I also bought some more paper napkins (darn-it I forgot to photo them, they are printed like red n white gingham check, very pretty)....

.....and new light Spring/Summer cotton rosie jammies. I fell in love with these as soon as I saw them, and the love affair has grown ten-fold since I made them mine and brought them home. They make me so happy!! I put them on whenever I can get away with it (erm, yup, have 'em on right now) and they instantly make me feel relaxed and dreamy and content. I have to tell you that wearing them whilst crocheting is almost off the scale of my personal pleasure-o-meter. Seriously.

I don't think I'm writing this April post very well, it's not very Aprilish really is it? I do apologise. How about a bit of an Attic view then??

Taken on 1st April as is my little ritual, it was a bright and blustery day if I remember rightly.

Scuddy clouds, a little threat of rain that didn't come to much. Perfectly right for April I'd say.

I was thinking to myself not so long ago that last month I passed my Blogiversary :: Three Years of Attic24. Three years!! I've written over 500 posts in that time you know. It's quite something to be now into my fourth year of calendar pages/attic views. Lots to look back on. Last year I found it too difficult to write these kinds of posts on time, but previous years I love that all that seasonal pondering is archived. You can read all my "Calendar posts" by clicking on the Calendar word in my category cloud thingy over there to the left. You don't have to. But sometimes I do just that and meander back through the months and seasons, I find it quite soothing and therapeutic.

Pffffffffffffffffffffff...running out of steam.....needing to go to bed shortly, it's been a tough day. Before I go, I want to tease you a little.....show you a snippet of something I worked on last week.......

A pretty little Spring time project, I think you're going to like it. More coming soon.

Been lovely to have you visit, thank you so much for dropping by to listen to my April chatter. I'm off in my rosy pyjamas to the Land of Nod now, I like it there.....see you soon for some hooky floral springtime goodness! ♥

Edited to add :: for those of you in the UK, the rosy pyjamas are from Tesco x

 

March 2011

I think the sight of fresh, bright green shoots pushing up through brown earth is very perfectly March-ish don't you? I bought myself some Muscari bulbs from the supermarket on Monday and popped them out of their plastic pot and into this little broken jug which I keep purely for popping Muscari bulbs in. It's never used for anything else, just for my annual Muscari Appreciation. I have an odd attachment to this little broken jug as I found it in the back yard covered in dirt when we first moved here. I feel it belongs to the house, I wouldn't dream of throwing it away even though it is a bit defunct. Can't wait for the sweet little blue flowers to arrive, but in the meantime the sight of those fresh green stems  on the windowsill is making me feel very happy indeed.

I'm on to my third? fourth? round of hyacinths on the mantel now too, they continue to deliver huge dollops of pleasure on a daily basis. So pretty! And so smelly! I think on balance I much prefer the blue flowers :: these pale pink ones that are scenting the room right now are very lovely but I kind of wish they were brighter that's all.

I'm so happy we are now into the month of March as it means all things Spring-like are right around the corner, yaaaayyyy!!! February was OK I guess but we did seem to be dealing with pesky coughs and colds throughout most of last month, so I'm looking forward to a dose of lighter, brighter and hopefully warmer weather to kick the germs into touch.

My calendar pages have been turned on time (in fact, I turned them a day early, thinking it was March on Monday) and the images made me sigh with gratitude for the Coming Of Spring. Greenery re-appearing. Longer days. Drying laundry outside again. And that certain hard-to-describe feeling of Spring in the air.

Oh, and Connievan-ing again yippppeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm hoping, hoping, hoping with all my heart that some time towards the end of the month it might possibly be time. Time to wake Connievan from her Winter slumber and take her on a little outing into the countryside. We need a mild spell, some sunshine and warmth and off we can jaunt. I've been having some very vivid fantasies just recently about revamping Connievans curtains. I told the man in the fabric shop that I had been fantasising about blue and white gingham curtains and I hoped very much that he did indeed sell blue and white gingham because I would be needing some very soon. He told me matter of factly that I'd be best to keep my fantasies to myself. This is a true story. Only in Yorkshire eh.

We had rather a lot of very welcome sunshine at the beginning of the week, and my front garden crocuses went wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee and flung open their petals in sheer delight. They looked so beautiful!

And next to the crocuses (is that word right? Seems to sound odd saying crocuses!)...err where was I, yes next to the purple crocus(es) is a resilient little clump of snowdrops. Gosh, I do love these little flowers, they are so humble yet so captivating and beautiful. Lovely.

On Tuesday which was the first day of March, I took a few of my usual snaps from the attic window. Living with this view for over three years now hasn't made it any less special and it continues to fascinate and delight me. I just love to observe the changing light throughout the day, it really does make for happy viewing....

01:03:11 :: three snaps taken at 08:27, 11:30 and 14:31.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the hill "greening up" again, it'll be another few months more before that happens and I can't wait. Ahhh I feel all happy and glowy just thinking green and springlike thoughts!

On that happy note I shall love you and leave you for now....it's 9.50pm here and it's my bedtime. Off to go get my hot water bottle filled to the max and get myself snuggled up under my feather duvet and my wonderful BB. Bliss ♥ !

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February 2011

Wouldn't it be fabulous if you could put your nose close to your computer screen and take a deep long sniff of the above picture??? Well I suppose you could sniff your screen if you wanted to but sadly you wouldn't be able to actually inhale the amazing scent. That is my little personal luxury and it really is amazing, take my word for it.

Actually, I don't need to go anywhere near these flowers to get a whiff of them, their scent fills the whole room. Open the door, walk in, breathe in, ahhhh happy, happy, happy! I don't think I would ever go without hyacinths now, I will have them in my life year after year after year for as long as I live. I know lots of you feel the same and I've been enjoying yours too here and here and here...marvellous little things aren't they?? I usually pick mine up from the supermarket, a pot of three bulbs for £2 or so, and they never fail to deliver. Wonderful.

Anyhow, hyacinths aside, lets talk monthly things shall we? January has been and gone, and already I'm loving that it's February. Cos February contains hearts and pancakes, both of which I am quite potty about. My calendar pages for February are lovely...hearts and lovey-dovey things....

....and pretty utilitarian things. Smashing. Gosh I would love a utility room. Seriously I would. I don't do an awful lot of ironing, but I love the idea of having somewhere pretty and orderly and purposeful to do it in (I actually iron on my bed, which is far from ideal). I'm really looking forward to getting my laundry flapping outside on the line again too, it seems like an age since I last pegged out. As you probably know I am not a very good housekeeper, my methods are very sporadic and slapdash. But I do take a pleasure in getting our clothes clean and dry and I love folding and stacking clean laundry, especially when it's been line dried outdoors. I do a lot of sniffing when I fold and stack laundry. I use eco products to clean our clothes and as they're not overly scented they leave the fabric smelling clean and natural. Mmmmm laundry sniffing :: another one of my secret little pleasures revealed!

February so far has been veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery breezy and very changeable here in my patch. Scudding clouds, gusty winds, at times incredibly wet and stormy, at other times surprisingly sunny and lovely. I took the above photo from the attic window on 1st february around 4pm in the afternoon. The light and colours of the landscape were so lovely that day, very soft and pretty for wintertime I thought.

February is still very much a winter month, and indoor activities are firmly on the agenda. Lots of baking, indoor games, cosy fireside pursuits and reading. The Little People both requested some new reading matter last week and so we treated them to their very own Amazon order. They were SO excited about the idea of having their very own books sent to them through the post, the anticipation was huge. It was very sweet. The parcel arrived yesterday morning, and it was a delight watching them open it together (hooozah, no squabbling over it either which was a minor miracle!) I would love to boast about them being avid little readers, but truthfully neither of them really are. So yes, it was wonderful yesterday to observe them curled up on the sofas amongst crochet cushions and blankies, noses in their books and seemingly enjoying the experience.

Postal delights all round yesterday cos there was also a sturdy flat package that arrived for me, all the way from the other side of the world. The excitement of the Little People over their package was quite huge, but mine was even Huge-er I can tell you!! My purchase came beautifully wrapped in an old map of Australia secured with blue and white string and a paper crane.....oh my, the LP were mega impressed by the paper crane, they could not believe their little eyes. I'm afraid you will have to wait to see what was contained inside the mappage, I'm saving that for another post. It'll be worth the wait I promise.

I've also been occupied with reading these past few days, curled up with blankets and busying myself inside the pages of my favourite magazines. I've had fun! Just had to share the above image with you, gosh my heart went whhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee when I turned onto that page!! It shows the interior of a shop (a strong candidate for The Shop Of My Dreams) called Home Sweet Home, absolutely wonderful. I would love to go there some day, I think I'd make myself right at home beside that fabulous rack of ribbons and refuse to leave.

My blankets are receiving a lot of use and appreciation at the moment, stormy February weather is just made for snuggling. I wanted to say a HUGE THANK YOU for all your wonderful comments about my sweet flower granny, I've had a fantastic time reading them all (and yes I promise you I read every single word of every comment, I really do). You are so generous with your words, I appreciate it very very much, thank you.

I have already gleefully moved on to my next project, oh yes. Already flying with it and having an amazing hooky time with myself. I wound my new alpaca/silk yarn into balls just over a week ago and have been busy with it ever since, I am so excited to show you what I'm doing.......

......there look, a sneaky peek before I go, more coming very soon I promise.

And on that warm and woolly note, I shall love you and leave you for now, I'm off to light the fire, make a cup of tea and settle down for a spot of Sunday afternoon hooky. Bliss.

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January 2011

This beautiful rose is sitting right in front of me as I sit at my rather messy dining table tap-tapping on my laptop, it's really beautiful (the rose, not the messy table) and I am happy to be starting the year with a jug of fresh flowers in the house.

I love this time of year. Love the feeling of optimism and excitement that comes over me when I ponder on a whooooooooole fresh-new-exciting Big Fat Year stretching ahead. So much time! So many possibilities! So much fun to be had! Lots of potential hooky time to be found in three hundred and sixty five days you know.

I tossed out my old calendars a few days ago and with much joy and anticipation I replaced them with my new ones. I'm back to just two (five was a bit excessive last year), and they are both wonderful. I'm really looking forward to sharing them with you as the year unfolds, they bring me such a lot of pleasure. Yes, I'm easily pleased as you well know by now.

So the above image is January from this year's Laura Ashley calendar, this is one amazing calendar folks, I love it! Each of the twelve images is completely made up from intricately cut and collaged fabrics, they are so clever. Makes me want to do careful and clever things with fabric, I do quite miss my sewing from time to time.

And here is January as seen in the ever lovely calendar that comes free each year with Ideal Homes magazine. Gosh, this calendar has never, ever failed to lift my spirits and every month of the past three years has been beeeeeeeutiful in IH-calendar land. The photographs are stunning they really are.

And of course I can't talk seasonal and calendar-ish things without also bringing in the current state of the weather, that would never do. I took the above photo on New Years day, and it's pretty much been like that ever since. The bitter cold, bright icy weather of last month has gone and we've been left with much warmer air but also a lot of dull grey/brown. It is January after all, and we do need to expect a certain kind of wintry dullness at this time of year I guess. My Attic view is still beautiful though, isn't it? It looks peaceful and sleepy to me.

So....today is day five of the New Year and I've already managed to clock up many, many hours of hooky time this year, hooorah! I've had such a happy time this past week or so, sitting in various places (at the dining table, on the sofa, on the other sofa, in the Big Chair, and best of all in bed) hooking my little heart out. My hook has been h*o*t, I've been working like the clappers on my sweet flower granny blanket trying to get somewhere near to The End of it. I really want to finish it so that I can move on to new things, my creative mind is going crazy with new ideas and the stack of Future Projects is worryingly high for the 5th day of the year.

Ok, we need to have some jug appreciation now if you don't mind. Isn't this one an absolute beauty?? A surprise Christmas gift from a good friend, I am very much in love with it. Smitten actually. It's such a  happy little thing! Such good looks, such a colourful personality, bags of charm too. And it looks so at home here on my messy, colourful table.

Oooo what have we here?? A rare photo in my dim kitchen, this is the small area to the left of the sink which is given over to the coffee machine, dishwasher tablets and empty milk bottles. It's not very pretty here in this corner of my kitchen, but it is light because of the little kitchen window and the back door. I've put my newly purchased amaryllis bulb here for the time being, and I'm really excited to have one of these in the house again. It's a whole two years since the last ones were here. Have you ever grown an amaryllis?? The rate at which they shoot skywards is astonishing, a true natural marvel. And then there's the flowers, my goodness, such beauty. Wonderful stuff to start the year with, I can't wait.

Ahh yes, something else we've started the year with, a certain cheeky Little Monkey celebrated his very first birthday today.

We spent the morning with lovely friends and neighbours, a chaotic mixture of Mums, babes, toddlers and Little People, but it was such good fun. Little B being such a sociable wee fella, spent the entire morning crawling about the place with a big beaming grin on his face. He loves a good social gathering. At eleven o'clock we lit his candle and sang him happy birthday, then allowed him to sit and smother his entire face with slices of chocolate caterpillar cake. He was very, very happy with that arrangement.

He is very well loved our Little B, and many friends remembered that today was His Day. He seemed to be genuinely thrilled with all of his gifts, lots of new and delightful things to play with.

Awwwwwwwwwwwww, how wonderful it is to observe a sleeping baby, I never get over the huge lurch of my heart when I gaze at my Littlies as they sleep. This is a very tired Little Birthday Boy taking his afternoon nap, snuggled under his very own granny blanket, do you remember it?

Gosh, it's been an emotional day. I've been reminiscing a lot about the day Little B came into the world, it was not plain sailing I can tell you, and I still remember it as if it were yesterday. This first year has been long and difficult in many ways, but oh my, there has been such incredible joy and happiness along the way too. I'm looking forward to this next year enormously.

Right then, I think I've rambled on quite enough for one evening, there suddenly seemed a lot to say about the start of January didn't there?! I'm off to sit a while on the sofa now and get a little giddy over yarn and hook. I'm working on The Edge you know, and it's a very exciting place to be.

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March 2010

Hello, and welcome to March, the month of Spring Things beginning to happen.

What?

A Little Late you say??

Hahaha, I know, you don't need to tell me, I do of course realise that we're actually into April today and I'm a whole big fat month late with my calender post (again). Kind of funny really, it's how I've been feeling this entire year so far. Like I'm constantly behind the times, clumsily trying to catch up with myself, tripping over the days and weeks as they speed by far too quickly.

But hey-ho, I'm quite ok with this trippy/belated state of affairs, I refuse to get stressy over it. I'll just be doing things in my own sweet slow way for the time being, I'm thinking of it as Attic24-time (ie pretty much a month out of synch with the rest of the world).

So would you like to have a little lookee at my March calendar pages before we allow April to step in?

The above beautiful image is from the Ideal Homes calendar, and is just gorgeous isn't it? Jugs of pretty Spring Blues, very inspiring and uplifting.

Here's The Bossy Calendar telling me to do floral prints and brighter colours :: right-oh then, I shall do my very best with that one. Although thinking about it, tis quite hard for me to go an awful lot brighter than I already do here in the Attic house. It's already pretty bright and breezy within my abode. Could try a bit of floral goodness though, couldn't I? Yes, I might just try that.

The above very pretty image has been hanging in my kitchen and is from the Prima calendar...the crockery up there is  not quite my cup of tea to be truthful, I prefer robust, slightly chunky handmade ceramics over delicate flowery china. Love those roses though.

And lastly this is March on the H&A calendar :: a light and airy room in pretty pinks and blues. A bit too grown up for me perhaps, I prefer my rooms to be a little more eclectic. A bit more messy and homespun.

March here in Lucy Land has been pretty good. We've had some jolly nice weather, almost spring-like at times. Many mornings have found me coming home from the school run and sitting outside in my little back yard, drinking coffee and eating something naughty-but-nice. I've just enough space to wheel the pushchair into the yard, manoeuvring the wheels between my big pots of Dead Things. Its been lovely to sit and breathe in the fresh early spring air with Little B sleeping beside me as I sip and munch.

I've been love-love-loving the Spring Issue magazines that were out during March, I think this is my favourite season in Magazine Wonderland. Such beautiful, inspiring, joyful images and subject matter, I just want to dive right into almost every page and skip about in the Springtime. I was reading this particular magazine (April issue of Country Homes) whilst milk tankering one quiet, sunny afternoon, I remember it well. I remember stroking those little feet (my boy is always kicking his little socks off) and ooohhing and aaahhing over the gorgeousness of the pages. Not a bad way to spend a gentle half hour.

Oh those little toes!! I thought you might like to see them again, personally speaking I just can't get enough of them.

March was the month for my clump of front garden snowdrops to do their thing. It was wonderful to watch them grow day after day, they gave me so much pleasure.

So pretty. All gone now mind you, their show is over for another year but they were much appreciated while they were here.

I bought some seeds a few weeks ago in a fit of early March Excitement. Not planted yet, as is my usual annual habit of buying them, admiring them, loving the packets, popping them into a bowl in the kitchen and forgetting about them until June. In fact, right now I couldn't for the life of me think where I have actually put these three packets, cos I don't think I've seen them in the kitchen anywhere. Ho hum, some things never change, despite such Good Intentions.

This was my Attic window view, taken On Time (yeeehaawww!) on the first day of March. I remember it being a lovely day :: bright and breezy with skuddy grey clouds and weak (but welcome) sunshine. Above photo in the Morning Light....

 

....and then again in the Afternoon Light.

I wonder how many pictures I've taken of this view in the two-point-three years that I've lived here? I never tire of it, it remains as magical now as it did when I first clapped eyes on it.

So March is no more, but it was a Good Month for me all in all. 

And do you know what?

I think April is going to be EVen Better.

Bring it on.

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edited to add :: the top picture of the pretty piggies is the March page on my Laura Ashley Kitchen Calendar, its my main "writing on" calendar which helps me try to remember not to forget!

February 2010

I feel bad that my calendar posts are so flippin late this year, that I just cannot seem to fathom how to keep up with the passing time at the moment. I've been trying to write this post for an age it seems. The photos have been sitting here in Draft Status looking all pretty and Februaryish since day six of the month. Patiently waiting for me to find time and head space to write some seasonal words to accompany them. But the time and head-space did not materialise :: the days and weeks rolled by and all of a sudden it was no longer February. But OH!! Wait a minute!! March can't possibly begin cos I've not yet written my February post!! I felt truly, stupidly distraught on Monday when I realised that February had been and gone. Just like that :: gone. How?????? I want it to come back!!!! I've not yet written my February Post!!!! Waaahhhhh!!!!!! I think possibly I overreacted a little within my own silly little world here in the Attic. I think lack of sleep combined with such incy-wincy-teeny-weeny snippets of me-time tend to make me feel all dramatic and overwrought when things Don't Get Done.

But that was Monday and now it's Wednesday and I have given myself a good talking to in between then and now. Told myself that this is My Blog and noone expects it to be perfect and that it's not the end of the world if things don't happen on time. That I can write a February post in March if I so choose. So that is what I am doing. In fact, the calendar pages all around the house are still showing their February pages anyways, so I don't really think it'll actually be March at Attic24 for a day or two yet.

So shall we commence with a little February Calendar Appreciation then??

Above is the Bossy Calendar and quite perfectly sums up what took place here at Attic24 through much of last month. We Obeyed Orders, yes-sireee! There was indeed a good many days when we snuggled up by the fire and did cosy blankety things. Quite a lot of toe warming and fireside loveliness. I love our fire. Love love love it. In our last house (with it's rather lame modern gas fire) we dreamt of one day living in a house with a Real Fire. And now that we have what we dreamt of we enjoy it enormously, especially in February.

That's the Ideal Homes calendar above, so pretty in it's simplicity. I really like that little wire-and-glass candle holder, don't you?

Pretty snowdrops in a pretty-pretty cup on the February page of the H&A calendar. Just like this time last year I've been watching the little clump of snowdrops pushing their way skywards in our front garden during the past couple of weeks. In fact I photographed them this morning when I noticed how pretty they looked sitting in a patch of morning sunlight, but I'm saving that to show you when I write my March post (which'll probably be in April).

And lastly the Prima calendar which has been brightening my kitchen this past month with the above colourful and beautiful image. Love those colours. Love them lots. Mmmmmm-mmmmmm.

And the monthly view from the Attic then? This photo was taken on the first day of February when the sun shone briefly. The weather has been quite lousy recently here in Yorkshire :: mostly grey, damp, cold. Lots of low cloud and fog. Low light levels. Quite a bit of ice and snow too.

So that's February done and dusted then. I've been sat here writing this post and thinking back over the month that has just passed. And I'm thinking to myself hmmmmm.....it was quite an ok month really, all things considered. A bit blurry, a bit tetchy, a bit down right worn out, but pretty ok on the whole.

I forgot a whole lot of things in February. Forgot to buy Valentines gifts. Forgot to make pancakes. Forgot various things that J was always telling me Not to Forget (book my car in for a service, cancel the dental appointment, ring the electricity people, post those Important Letters etc etc). I also would have forgotten Non-School-Uniform-Day and parents evening, but luckily my Little Man has started reading the parents letters that he gets sent home with and then telling me (time and again) what I need to remember, bless him.

But as well as the forgetting, I also tried to remember things too. Remembered to look up and notice the colour of the sky. Remembered the joys of baking in a warm kitchen. Remembered the scent of full-blown hyacinths in flower. Remembered to kiss those little baby fingers and toes. Remembered how much joy and pleasure I can always find when I spend time with hook and yarn.

I like to think that the Remembering is faaaaaaar more important than the Forgetting. Well in my topsy-turvy little world it is.

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January 2010

I was writing on my calendar today (doctors appointment, 10:40, Friday, Don't Forget) and realised with a bit of mild shock that there's less than a week left of January 2010 and it'll be February next week. So I thought that today rather than having my customary afternoon snooze on the sofa while Little B sleeps, that I'd pop in here to write my January Post whilst it still is January.

The above Attic view was taken on New Years Day, and the hills went on to become a lot whiter when we had quite a lot of heavy snowfall during the first week of the year. In fact, my view of the hills this month has been more often white than green, and very wintry-looking indeed. There has been such beauty in this view during January, and as I've spent most of the month indoors looking out the windows, I've really appreciated how lucky I am to have this view to gaze upon.

So :: a new month and a New Year, and I'd like to show you my new calendars that'll be taking me through the next twelve months. Heehee, I've got five of them on the go this year! Possibly a bit excessive, but hey, you can never have too much seasonal eye candy in my opinion, and really the pages of these calendars (for the most part) offer exceptional eye candy. Beautiful. Inspiring. Yummy.

The Laura Ashely calendar there on the left is my main writing-on calendar which lives in the hall and attempts to keep me on the straight and narrow path of Organisation. It has a hard job for sure, my memory really is shot to bits these days.

The other four calendars were all freebies which came with various magazines :: the glorious Ideal Homes calendar and the bossy Country Homes calendar are the same two that took us through last year, plus this year there are also calendars from Prima magazine and Homes&Antiques. Plenty to go at each month.

 

I do really love the Laura Ashely calendar, I've been buying it for a number of years now. The little stitched and collaged fabric images for each month are really charming I think.

 

This next one is the Ideal Homes calendar, and as we have come to expect is beautifully photographed. These images really do capture the essence of Seasonal England, and kind of make me breathe out with a big contented sigh and go aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Just lovely.

The Bossy Calendar has changed it's sponsorship this year :: in previous years it's been Laura Ashley, but this year its gone very woolly and is sponsored by British Wool. But it's still very pretty, and the Bossiness remains intact. Brisk winter walking :: chop chop!! Wrap up warm and get out doors! Well, yes, I possibly will make more of an effort to spend time walking outdoors this week, just as soon as I'm no longer exhausted by walking the school run. Baby steps for me right now, baby steps.

This rather brown-looking image is from the H&A calendar...can't say that January has got off to a flying start with this calendar, but it does get prettier and more inspiring (and less brown) as the months progress.

 

And lastly, this is the January page from the Prima calendar...pretty damn cute eh? We're in for a treat with this calendar, the images for each month are just gorgeous. Well ok, make that GORgeous, said with feeling.

So...a quick little summary of the month/year so far, quick whilst Little B is still asleep and I still have a snippet of day left to call my own....

Well January has completely rollocked by for me in a haze of sleep deprivation, recovery and adjustment, and has been one of the most personally challenging months I can remember in a long time. No two days (or nights) are the same and I'm living with the slightly disorientated feeling of Constant Muddlesomness that comes with getting to know a new baby. We don't really have any sort of routine going yet, and there's the constant flying-by-the-seat-of-ones-pants feeling that new babies generate. And then there's the Decisions :: ohhh so many, many little itty-bitty decisions to be made each day (and night) and so much guess work involved with babies! I would be lying (blatantly) if I told you that I'm loving every minute :: true there are some magical and delicious moments, but also a great deal of frustration and a good many stressy bits. 

But I know this :: it WILL. Get. Easier. This is my daily mantra.

This week I'm feeling considerably stronger than last week, and every day a little bit more of my Self returns. I'm walking a little easier, sleeping a little better, finding a little more balance. Still haven't managed any hooky time, but have decided to introduce Little B to the cafe this week and give him his first taste of Thursday morning knit-and-natter. I am excited (not been since before Christmas!) and nervous (it's a small cafe and a crying baby will be veeeeery stressy!), but overwhelmingly I'm looking forward to seeing my friends and attempting to regain a little teeny bit of space in my week for creativity. Oh, and cappuccino and chat, I can't tell you how much I've missed it. I don't ask for much, honestly I don't. Two hours a week, that's all. Actually, would settle happily for one hour a week. Just the one will do nicely for now.

Well.......better go now as it's Milk Tanker time, it's been lovely to catch up with you all and surprisingly reassuring to find that my brain can still just about string sentences together and hasn't turned completely to mush. Pheww.

See you all soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

December

Well hello peeps, and a very Happy December to you! I know I'm a day late, but I was caught up in a flurry of snowflakes yesterday and as a result the calendar turning and seasonal commentary has had to wait until today.

Yesterday, the first day of December, the weather here was gorgeous, very Decemberish indeed. In fact, I remembered it was remarkably similar to the first day of December last year :: a beautiful, frosty, truly cold winters day with sub zero temperatures. I popped my camera into my pocket when I went out to school in the morning, and on my walk back home I took a few snaps here and there of some icy frosted bits of nature. The sun was shining, and I really enjoyed looking at the detail of my surroundings as I ambled along. So much beauty when one slows right down and observes up close.

I took some early photos of my Attic view yesterday to share with you too...the above photo was taken at 07:23 just as the daylight was starting to creep in...

...slowly it got lighter...

...and more golden...

...until an hour later at 08:20 and we could see how freeeeeezing it looked outside!

Can't quite believe that we're now on the last page of this years calendars, can you? 2009 does seem to have been a speedy sort of a year if you ask me. I've really, really enjoyed writing my monthly Calendar posts this year, and love being able to look back on them to see how the year has progressed.

I'll be continuing on through next year too :: I've got four lovely, inspiring new 2010 calendars all ready and waiting for next month...ooooo can't wait!

So we're on the final page of the Bossy Calendar now....ahh such fun this calendar has been! I've loved it actually, loved reading the months instructions and deciding whether to obey commands or not. I see that today I'm being told to start decorating for Christmas....well....as it happens....been doing just that very thing to day as I strung up my star garland (more of that tomorrow). Not sure I can manage it every day, but I may just give it a go.

 

This months Ideal Homes calendar does not disappoint either, sooooo simple, yet so beautiful and seasonal, as all this years images have been. Its been a true pleasure this calendar and I'm looking forward to next years already.

Incidentally, if at any time you fancy a little seasonal review of the year gone by, you can find all my previous calendar posts by clicking on the "Calendar" category in my sidebar :: it's something I often enjoy doing in idle Moments of Reflection.

So..a little bit of an update on the progress of Bump24, growing nice and plump as you can see. I'm now at 32 weeks and doing OK :: a little weary and s:l:o:w for the most part, but OK. I'm really beginning the final countdown now I guess and truthfully it all still seems a little unreal at times. But I know in my heart I'm going to be so happy to finally meet this little baby next month. Exciting times ahead for sure.

 

But in between now and Babytime, we've got Christmas to contend with. I am as usual hopelessly behind with any sort of festive preparations, but I'm not feeling overly bothered about it this year.

Last week I brought down the little housey Christmas tin from the box of Christmas paraphenalia stored in the Attic, and filled it with little foil wrapped chocolate santas (much to the daily delight of the Little People who love to eat chocolate as soon as they get up). It's about as far as I've got to doing anything Christmassy around here (excepting the Snowflake production of course).

I spent a little time this morning looking back over last months photos and made up Novembers picture mosaic look....a bit of seasonal eye candy is always a Good Thing eh.

Right-o, I need to be away from my laptop now and off doing domestic things...lovely to see you as always, do feel free to stop by for a little creative Advent Ta-dah tomorrow...see you then...

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November

 

Slightly late with my Calendar post this month, but hey-ho, better late than never.

The mosaic above is my Attic24 October, and I have to say I did really enjoy last month, enjoyed easing myself gently into Autumn. Time seemed to fly by a little too speedily at times through October though, but it was good nevertheless.

So here we are into the first week of November, a month of wrapping up warm and cosying up. Leaf kicking, fire lighting, chestnut roasting, candle lighting, hot water bottling, blanket snuggling.

The Bossy Calendar is actually spot on with it's bossiness for this month I think, and I am more than happy to obey orders. It's still Persistently Brown mind you, but I can overlook that and focus on the glow of the open fire and the warm twinkle of candlelight.

 

The Ideal Homes November calendar page is oooooooo-so-very-atmospheric isn't it?? Beautifully simple, seasonal and quite lovely, as all their photographs have been during this year.

For those of you in the UK, the current issue of Ideal Homes magazine (December issue) is now in the shops and with it comes the 2010 calendar.....it's another stunning collection of images and I'm already looking forward to turning it's pages next year.

The November weather-watch from the Attic today is wet-wet-wet, I honestly don't think it's stopped raining here since Sunday.

Hoping very much that the rain might decide to ease up soon, it's not been nice doing the school run in such wetness. Been able to wear my wellies though, which has been a Good Thing. 

One thing about enduring a wet, soggy walk to school is that it makes the Home-coming even more pleasurable than usual. I loved walking back in the door this morning, the house seemed so cosy and welcoming.

Baked some cookies earlier and there's a rather wonderful fresh-baking smell still lingering in the air....these are my raisin and orange cookies (find the recipe here), only I used cranberries today instead of raisins and let me tell you they are really scrumptious.

Thought you might like to see a current view of Bump24, providing a rather handy ledge for my coffee cup. Many thanks to those of you who have asked after me and The Bump of late, we are doing very well thank you. I'm now plodding into the third trimester (28 weeks) and trying to remind myself to sloooooow right down, which is proving surprisingly difficult.

Right, off to indulge in a second cup of coffee before commencing the day's Nesting Activities. On the agenda for today :: making a blind for the bathroom window and painting my bathroom cupboard door knobs.

Do you know what? We could be coming close to a Bathroom Makeover Reveal very soon, now thats been a long time coming!

Enjoy your day my lovelies, whatever is on your agenda...

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