Attic24

April 2012

April has been such a mixed bag weather wise, we've had pretty much every type of weather imaginable. Lots of scudding clouds, high winds, many varieties of rain (misty drizzle, squally showers, torrential downpours), sleet, hail, and even snow. We had many, many cold wet days where the rain never let up for a moment. Then we had very mixed days which started out quite promising but were full of unpredictable bursts of rain. Sun-rain-sun-rain, with an occasional token rainbow somewhere in between. Sigh. April has been very cold and un-Springlike much to my disappointment.

The calendar image which I gazed at from my desk throughout April was this Ideal Homes one. Almost every day I wished that it wasn't so brown. I wished for sweet, pretty Spring colours and wondered why on earth someone would choose brown ribbon when so many other gorgeous colours of ribbon exist?

My organising calendar was much more satisfactory, and even included my most favourite cake of all time (carrot cake, in case you didn't know). These colours are perfect for Spring, and I approve of the brown being limited to bun, cake and chocolate. Happy sugary thoughts are flooding my brain now, gosh I do soooo love cake. Such pleasure!

In amongst all the grim weather of April, there were little pockets of loveliness. The above photo was taken early one Sunday morning in the middle of the month. It was one of those glorious bright, clear mornings, the sort that makes it impossible to stay indoors. I recall that we were out in the exact same spot at almost the exact same time four years ago, and yet again I marvel at the repetitive rhythm of my life.

The morning jaunt was short and sweet, cos despite the sunshine it was really cold. We walked the familiar river path as far as our favourite little pebble beach and proceeded to spend the next half hour throwing stones into the water. Little B, oh Little B loves to plop-splash pebbles into water, he was so incredibly happy with it all. Me, I was freeeeeezing. Even a flask of hot coffee and some easter eggs did not hit the spot, but I was glad we ventured out, glad to see my Littlies have so much simple outdoor fun. Little Man gave me this lovely heart shaped stone that he found, it was a super sweet moment.

My brave little seedlings have thankfully survived the soggy conditions that April provided. They are a bit mud splattered, but not doing too bad all things considered. At least the resident slug/snail population hasn't discovered them (yet), hoping it stays that way.

I took some advice and made a cosy little bubble-wrap enclosure for my newly planted passion flower, protecting it's sweet tendrils from the chill. I keep having a little peek in to make sure all is well (it's looking beautifully healthy so far) and am really looking forward to seeing this plant make it's way up, up, up outside my kitchen door.

I thought April would see much more outdoor action after Spring arrived so warmly and sweetly in March. But no, it wasn't to be. April did not turn out to be a warm, sweet outdoor month at all. We kind of took a step backwards and fell into winter again, but it wasn't all bad. It made the business of draping super warm blankets-in-progress over one's knees rather appealing. I'm continuing my lovely pleasure ride with the ripples, coming into the home stretch now I guess. I'm a bit stuck now though as I've run out of yarn. Well that's to say I've got lots of small balls left but not enough of any one colour to make the four rows required, so am waiting for a chance to go yarn shopping. I'm savouring the gorgeous feeling of anticipation that builds prior to a yarn-buying mission, makes my heart go all fluttery just thinking about it.

The ripple may be on temporary hold but the circles have been a marvelous diversion throughout April. I've been really enjoying this yarn and these colours I have to say, and I'm already dreaming up more things to do with it (a new bag is in early sampling stages, something pretty and floral and easy to whip up). But.........must finish the ripple and this sweet round cushion first, must not get too ahead of myself. Cos I know that it does me no good to have too many fingers in too many creative pies all at once, I get all tangled if too much tries to happen at once.

April is always a sweet month for us here in the Attic cos it contains a birthday. Little Lady turned eight years old at the end of the month, and we celebrated with a shopping trip (a much longed for new desk for her bedroom, plus some much needed new clothes), a meal out and a girly sleepover with two of her school BFF's coming to spend the night here. The latter was lots of fun, despite the sleep deprivation. Eight year old girls, what can I say? It's such a tender age, the fashion, the hair styling, the tentative experiments with lip gloss and eye shadow, awww I find myself half fascinated and half horrified by it all. The speed at which they begin to hurtle out of childhood is quite scary. Cripes. It goes so fast. So fast.

April seemed like a long month to me, it didn't go fast at all. The days dragged by, long and wet and cold. It now seems like an incredible long age since Easter, yet that was less than three weeks ago? Doesn't seem possible, does it?

Less than three weeks ago we were in Dorset enjoying sunshine and sea breezes. Sigh. I miss it. That particular bit of April was such a lovely, enjoyable, fun, happy, relaxing bit for sure. And the pictures prove it.

I didn't take all that many snaps of the Attic view in April cos for much of the time it really didn't exist. The hills were blanked out by low rain clouds, and what we could see of the landscape looked bleak, washed out and grey.

This was during the first week of April when we had some freakish winter weather land on the hills...

....this was a mediocre cloud filled day....

...and this was an afternoon of after-rain brightness.

But this was what we mostly became accustomed to.... rain, rain and more rain. April, you will be remembered as being the month of Wet. April showers on a grand scale.

Which is one of the reasons I love to make my monthly mosaics. Cos it reminds me that despite the grim weather there was still creative colour, fun and happiness, that indoors remained cosy and bright, and that we made the very most of the few sunny days we had. The weather can only dampen our spirits if we let it.

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March 2012

Ahh March, you are no longer with us and I miss you! April so far is being completely vile, we're in the grips of an icy storm, the wind is howling and it is s-n-o-w-i-n-g, blasted weather. I look through these deliciously springlike photos and I want it to be March again, March was soooo beautiful. The sky was often blue, and we had warm sunshine for the first time this year. It was quite glorious for much of the time, yes March, you were lovely.

My organiser calendar went all green, sophisticated and Continental for March. Made me think of a carefree time in my past when many moons ago J and I flew to Paris for a romantic March weekend. Searching through my memory banks.......oh cripes.....yeah, waaaay back in my youth....March 1995,  seventeen years ago. Would love to go back sometime.

My ever lovely Ideal Homes calendar had this stunning image for March, it's been a true delight having this next to my desk to gaze at for a month. So beautiful, I find the sight of pink blossom really uplifting and good for the soul.

In my mind I associate blossom with May, as that's when the cherry trees in my neighbourhood flower. But in the past month I've noticed such a lot of early blossom flowering on trees all over the place, and it really is delightful. I don't have much blossom-knowledge so have no idea what sort of trees produce these gorgeous early blooms, but I love them very much. They are more delicate than the flouncy, frilly cherry blooms that come in May, I love their sweet simplicity.

My front patch crocus bloomed their little hearts out through early March, they were such a welcoming sight at the front of the house.

Forsythia sprang into action around here a few weeks ago too, there is lots of it around and about in my neighbourhood. I'm not mad keen on it to be honest (that particular yellow is a bit too shouty and acidic for me), but it's undoubtedly a real sign that Spring is well on the way.

In complete contrast to the indoorsyness of February, March was all about reconnecting with Outside. I love March for that very reason. I love stepping out of stuffy, cooped-up February and breathing in the fresh air of March, it's delicious. Lovely to start pegging out again too, it's a sweet domestic job that always fills me with gladness. Hooray for stripy garments flapping in the breeze!

Outdoor tea breaks also began again last month, oh the joy! I generally stop my outdoor pitstops sometime in October when my hands start turning purple with the cold. It's been lovely having enough warmth in the air to have the kitchen door propped open and a quick breather in the outdoors. In fact, I've really, really enjoyed all the domestic outdoorsyness these past few weeks :: the pegging out, the sunshine tea sipping, the seed planting, and the general feel-good brought on by warm air, blue skies and spring sunshine. I feel really excited about spending more time outdoors as the year progresses, about making my back yard into a haven of floral colour and greenery.

Floral colour has ben happening in abundance inside too, just look! Every Friday I stop by the market after picking up Little B from playgroup and treat myself to a modest bunch of fresh flowers. The tulips and narcissi that fill the pavement buckets at this time of year are brilliant, and represent great value for money. I can get quite a few bunches now for just a few ££, enough for me to fill a small jug for the table, pop four into my bathroom windowsill bottles, and have a few in a jar beside my bed. The roses above came from a surprise Mothers day bouquet. I don't wish to sound ungrateful, but I confess I am not a fan of commercial "mixed bouquets". If I am on the recieving end of one (not often), I tend to split them up, chop the stems short and arrange them into various small jugs instead of one over-the-top vase. Much more my style.

My photo album for March was full to bursting with pictures you know, it seemed like a very full-to-bursting kind of a month. When I'm putting my monthly round up posts together I like to try and capture the general feel of the months activities :: it was hard for March as there was so much! Lovely looking back and remembering the various outings we made :: local strolls, simple jaunts and proper full blown outings, it's been liberating to stretch our horizons beyond our four walls again.

Mind you, March also saw me get to grips with the Four Walls a bit, and I am so happy the Shelves of Doom were finally banished. It remains a highpoint of my year so far, truly it does. And that surprises me a bit, but it's true. I think it was as much about the way I was able to mentally and emotionally pull myself together to tackle this task as it was about the end results. A real Personal Achievement for a rather slovenly procrastinator. I really did it, didn't I? Still wearing ridiculous proud smile over that one, although my two crates are still there waiting, as is the pile of 51 books destined for the charity shop, so can't be too smug.

I had a hair chop in March, it was long overdue as I'd not been since the Blooming Flower cushion photos. That's eight months. I've got more grey hairs now, but I'm remaining true to my natural colour which is still pretty good. It feels lovely to have air on my neck again, I was looking quite shaggy and unkempt with my raggedy grown-out shoulder length do.

Hooky wise, not a lot to report for March, it was a quiet month on the hooky front. I kind of lost the will a little, I just didn't seem to want to do it for a while. I worked a little on my ripple through last month, but not a lot. I've got many, many ideas brewing for new projects though, it's quite tangled again up in my Creative Mind. I'll keep you posted.

So how's the Attic view been in March? Terrific, that's how. The light levels have risen dramatically, especially with the arrival of British Summer Time a few weeks ago, and I am so, so thankful for the extra daylight in my life again. Yeah, the view has been light-filled and lovely, take a look.................

I especially love that last photo, it was taken on 27 March at 18:20 after a day of the most glorious sunshine. I love the golden glow of the landscape at that time of day, I remember it made me want to rush out and frolic around in it (which I actually did, I took myself out for an early evening walk to watch the sun set and the moon rise, it was beautiful)

March was altogether a beautiful month. It was light and bright and upbeat, both indoors and outdoors. In March it became Springtime, and I was so ready for that change of season, was so over the winter.

Do you ever think of the year in terms of fractions? I do. I keep thinking wow, we are one quarter the way into the year now. Can't quite believe we're in the second quarter of the year already, but as this is my most favouritist quarter of all (April-May-June), I am more than happy with the progress. Bring it on, I'm ready to give it my all.

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Edit to add :: A Question.......do you think I go on too much? Should I make my posts shorter/less wordy? Interested to hear what you think as I never give much thought to my posts in terms of how they read, I just write what I feel like writing regardless. ♥ oh that's ok then, thanks so much for the feedback and reassurance...will carry on with my ramblin' ways. Not sure I could do any different anyways?! ♥

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

February 2012

Funny isn't it, that even though February is the shortest month of the year, it very much feels like the longest? I try not to struggle with this funny second month, try to remain immune to the sneaky, wintry blues that often descend like a damp cloud. But truthfully, it isn't always doable. Sometimes February days just suck, and that's all there is to it.

My February calendar pages were certainly not gloomy though, they told me to remember the good things about this time of year. The celebration of Love by way of disgraceful quantities of chocolate, and the celebration of Pancake, by way of errm, lots of pancake-eating. Both were good, sweet, edible events in our house this year, enjoyed by all five of us.

This is February Ideal-Home-style, beautiful and inspiring as ever. I love that the February image is content and creative and indoorsy, it does certainly make me want to go away and plan something stitchy. It's been an age since my old Bernina came out to play. Ooooooo, which reminds me, I do need to apply myself to finishing off Connievan's curtains which were started last year and not completed (re-making ten curtains was a far bigger job than I originally thought). Right then, that will be my March challenge, remind me in a week or two will you?

February here in the Attic was beautifully floral, oh I've had such a tremendous amount of pleasure and good value out of February's blooms. I mean, just look at them! True spirit lifters, that's for sure.

My Amaryllis burst into flower in February too, I watched day after day as the green shoots made their usual speedy ascent. This year, for the first time, I placed it on the windowsill behind my desk, so I really was very aware of it's daily progress. It's been lovely watching the first bud unfold......

.....the light shining through the petals has made them almost appear to be glowing. Such beauty and such intense, glorious colour. When I chose the amaryllis (I bought it when I was in Ilkley in January sometime), I really did deliberate over which colour to go for. In fact, at first I picked up one that was the palest pinky white with delicate pink stripes running through the petals. I thought perhaps it would be good to go with something a little different for a change. But I just couldn't bring myself to go through with it in the end. I put the pale pink variety back and predictably plumped for good ol' Amaryllis Red Lion, always guaranteed to pack a punch with the colour. Pale pink? Whatever was I thinking?!!

The focus of February has been very much on indoors, keeping warm and occupying our time with cosy, feel-good pursuits. Baking, crocheting and fireside pleasure. Early nights tucked up in bed, good, wholesome home cooked food. Keeping the Little People happy indoors whilst allowing time for my own creativity. When I look at these pictures I think cor! What a lovely, happy, homely, cosy, warm month February was! Yet I recall that there was often an underlying feeling of discontent. Bad weather. Restlessness. Gloom. Germs. I guess that if you jumble up all the good things with the not-so-good things, then overall the month evened itself out. It was just right. It was a slow, winter month spent doing indoorsy, winter things.

Some good things certainly came my way last month though, and the above is one of them. I was incredibly chuffed to pick up a copy of Inside Crochet magazine (the March issue) to see the results of the Blog Awards in print. Such lovely words were written, so complimentary and flattering. I slurped my latte as I read (I was in a cafe with Heather at the time) and felt like my cheeks had gone pink and my insides had gone all tickly. Thank you SO MUCH, all of you lovely people who took the trouble to vote for me back in November. You really made me feel super-duper, if a little flushed and tickled.

Do you recognise the photo above? Know where it is?

It's the little village of Craster in Northumberland where we've had numerous summer holidays staying in the white house at the very end of the row. We were last there in August 2009 when I was carrying Little B around inside my rather large, round bumpy tummy. Last week, I booked the same cottage for us to re-visit for a holiday this summer, and I am soooooooooooooooooo happy about that fact! As soon as I had made the booking and paid the deposit, I went straight into my photo archives and pulled out this image to make a print. It's sitting on my desk like a postcard from the past, reminding me that in less than six months time we will be back there again. I think planning and booking a summer holiday in February is ace, I can highly recommend it.

 

Weather wise, February here in Atticland has been pretty dire on the whole. It's mostly been a month of wet grey yuckiness. Of course, there have been some good weather bits here and there. The snow was good fun. And the odd bit of sun and blue sky that peeked through the gloom was incredible and very memorable.

My February attic views are mainly shades of grey..........

Oh! Not so grey! That last picture above was 24th February, a time when the sky finally cleared after the rain and for a wee while there was some colour back in the landscape. I'm hoping March is going to be very much more along these lines, I've SO had enough of the wet grey stuff. So over it. Need Spring to come now. Anytime as from tomorrow would be good.

So that sums up February 2012. Not really so bad after all. In fact, it looks pretty good I'd say.

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Snow Play

We went out to play this morning. We wrapped up warm and walked the five minutes up the road to our local park where we knew from previous years that the Snow Play would be first class. We weren't disappointed, the park looked as beautiful as I remembered it from before. There was a terrific atmosphere with so many excited children, dogs and parents-of-children-and-dogs all out to play. We met and chatted with lots of friends and neighbours, I think half of our street was at the park this morning.

The Little People had a wonderful time with their sledges, they were a complete joy to watch. Such visible excitement on their faces at the end of each long, fast downhill run. Little B was a little bit more tricksy as it turns out he really doesn't like the snow very much at all. It made him cry and he refused to walk in it. Like absolutely, completely threw a wobbly when his boots touched down on the stuff. After much persuading we managed to get him to sit on a sledge so we could pull him to the park (he was happy with this arrangement cos none of his body was actually in contact with the snow). Actually he enjoyed being pulled around on the sledge and eventually after an hour or so he did manage a little bit of walking and a little bit of snowball throwing. It was so funny when we returned home, I took off his hat, mitts, boots and snow-suit and his face suddenly broke into a wide grin of pure relief, as if to say Thank Goodness THATS over with!!! Bless.

Ahhhh, it's been a wonderful weekend here in my patch, full of Winter Joy. Warm, cosy, indoor stuff and cold, exciting outdoor stuff. Perfectly Februaryish. But much as we've enjoyed our snow time, I'm keeping fingers crossed for sunshine and a Big Melt tomorrow. It can all go away now, thank you.

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Keeping Warm

A beautiful start to the weekend with pale, clear sky and streaming sunlight. But cold. Oh so very cold. Well below freezing.

After a super quick (and freeezing) hop into town to buy a magazine and drink coffee, I came home and settled myself in for the day. My main priority was to Keep Warm.

Today the tightly closed buds of my narcissus "Bridal Crown" began to unfurl in the warmth of the room. So beautiful.

My attempt to Keep Warm this morning found me in the kitchen. I practically wrapped myself around the oven to absorb the heat into my body. In fact I loved being in the warm kitchen so much that I double-baked. Oaty apricot cookies followed by buns. Warmth and good smells.

I took time out from my heat seeking activities to help Little Lady with a craft/sewing project. Totally her idea, she just needed me to provide the supplies and assist a little with the design.

There was some colouring fun too. Little Lady plus two visiting friends (our house is never dull or quiet at weekends), then later on Little B joining in.

I love that this table gets used for so much daily activity. Cutting, stitching, gluing, colouring, eating, crocheting, designing, working, playing, climbing (oh that naughty Little B!), reading, drinking.

Late morning and I found myself unexpectedly alone for a weeny while. J and Little B were out together, Little Man was at a friend's house, Little Lady (with her two friends) were playing upstairs.

I made coffee and settled myself into the Big Chair to lose myself in the pages of Country Living magazine. It promised Fresh Spring Style, how delicious!

Three blankets and three cushions made up my Chair Nest. Got to be warm and cosy and comfy when I read my favourite magazine.

I lit the fire at lunch time. I made a second nest of blankets and cushions for myself on the floor right next to the hearth.

My lunch was yummy. I made a bowl of tomato cous cous and tossed in some oven roasted garlic and rosemary veggies left over from last nights dinner. Carrot and pepper strips, chunks of red onion and courgette, whole cherry tomatoes. Mmmmmmmmmm.

After lunch I iced the buns. I made my usual glacé icing (icing sugar mixed with water) and added in a teaspoon of cocoa powder. Sweet little chocolate shapes, chocolate crispie balls and mini candy coated chocolate drops to decorate. Finished off with a light sprinkling of edible glitter.

The snow started at lunch time and continued steadily all afternoon. I watched it fall, gazing out of the windows upstairs and down. It looked incredibly cold out there.

But I was warm and toasty-snug next to the fire working on my ripple blanket. The weight of the blanket across my legs combined with the incredible warmth of the cashmere felt heavenly.

Some time after lunch Little B came home with J. He's starting with a cold and is all snotty and out of sorts. He came to sit next to me by the fire. Actually, he tried to pull my crochet away and sit right on top of me, but I gently persuaded him to get his own cushion and a book and sit beside me instead. I rippled away and made all sorts of Big Vehicle noises to keep him happy as he page turned.

3pm and I decided that it was a good time to partake in a tea and cake break.

Little B was happy to oblige. A chocolate iced bun is just the thing when one's feeling just a smidge under the weather.

Outside it continued to be snowy. I kept looking out of the window at our street and thinking how glad I was to be indoors. How glad I was to feel warm. Yes, warmth was Good.

The Little People don't seem to feel the cold like we do, do they? They were out in the street playing in the snow, rolling and sliding around in it, digging in it, scraping it up, throwing it around. Brrrrrr.

Early evening, dark outside. Little B is tucked up asleep and I can hear the excited shouts of half a dozen children still larking about in the snow outside. I peek out the window. They are rolling a huuuuuge snowball down the street, the beginnings of a Street Snowman. I potter around upstairs, folding clean laundry, straightening the covers on my bed. Already looking forward to bedtime.

Back downstairs, making a cup of tea. Open the back door and a stream of light falls into the back yard. I'm surprised to see just how much snow has already fallen.

I think tomorrow's post is going to be predictably full of white. The sledges are already waiting by the door. No getting out of it. I'm going to be feeling the cold tomorrow.

Night night x

 

 

 

 

 

January 2012

So we are now one month into the New Year, I wonder how it's been for you all? I hope you've all had a bright and happy start to 2012 and that you've managed to keep those sneaky January Blaaaaahs at bay. I've had a pretty fabulous start to the year, lots of creativity here as you know which has been a lovely way to launch into 2012. You can't beat a good dose of happy colour and creativity to keep the spirits up.

I'm going to be continuing my tradition of monthly Calendar Appreciation throughout this year, I can hardly believe this will be my fifth year of doing this funny little thing. Wow, how time flies.

I've got the ever wonderful Ideal Homes  calendar on the wall next to my desk here.....

....and a rather scrumptious new Planner type calendar in the hall to keep me on track with family life.

The Ideal Homes calendar does not disappoint, not ever. I love love love it. I stopped buying the magazine a while ago as it no longer appealed (some very iffy interiors with waaaaay too much funky wallpaper and horrendous colour choices for me to stomach). But the free calendar which appears with each December issue remains a true gem. Twelve incredibly beautiful, seasonal photographs which I truly look forward to gazing at every month.

My family planner calendar was  a last minute buy when I suddenly realised after Christmas that I needed one and didn't have one. I really love it actually, but it does make me feel peckish for cakes every time I look at it. I could just do with a cupcake or two right now, mmmmmm.

Isn't January always a super-long month? It seems to me that it contains maybe eight weeks instead of four. I can hardly believe that the beginning of January still contained the tail-end of Christmas, it seems soooo far behind us now.

We haven't had many crisp, bright winter mornings here as it's mostly been a very wet, grey sort of a month with low light levels. But there were a few times when we did get some beautiful skies in January. Oh and I did appreciate them!

And throughout the past month I've certainly noticed (with a glad heart-skip) that our days are slowly but steadily lengthening again. We are still eating our breakfast with the curtains closed, but the evening is arriving almost an hour later than it did in December. I live in a very housey neighbourhood with only small glimpses of the sky (excepting the attic view of course) but I do really  love to star and moon gaze up through the chimney pots and rooftops.

My usual healthyish diet went completely to pot over the Christmas period and continued to be rich, extravagant and naughty well into January. I kept trying to curb my sweet tooth, but my sugar cravings have been extraordinary. I'm looking now at those two mugs of deliciously topped hot chocolate (a New Years Day treat for Little Lady and myself) and I honestly feel like I want to eat my computer....ahhh fond memories.

I love baking in the winter months, and my January photo folder is full of the evidence. Scrummy pictures of jam laden victoria sponge, all-butter shortbread and moist banana bread have been sending me into a spin of craving. I'm pretty much back on track with myself now though, back to snacking on fresh fruit with just a weeny daily quota of sweet stuff.

That's altogether how January has felt really....an effort to get oneself Back On Track. Back to routine, back to the daily business of ticking over. I found it quite a struggle when the Little People went back to school after Christmas, they are especially excellent at keeping their Little Brother happy and we both felt a bit adrift when it was just down to the two of us again. But it didn't take long and we soon got back into enjoying the gentle rhythm of our days together.

I've been managing to maintain my enthusiasm for Keeping House so far this year, and am still diligently carrying out my daily swishing and swiping, laundry duties and hot-spot control. My weekly Home Blessing hour is still going strong too, and I've come to look forward to my Friday mornings, more than I ever thought possible. I carried out a little bit of extra decluttering and tidying around my desk area too in January (including the windowsill above, which is directly behind my desk), and I felt so great when I'd done it. I really MUST apply myself wholeheartedly to the Shelves of Doom next as they are beginning to cause arguments. Stuff keeps getting eaten by them, which makes J Very Cross Indeed, cos getting the shelves to spit stuff back out again is not easy. Near impossible actually.

Anywaaayyyyyyyyyyy.....lets not get bogged down with Bad Home Vibes. I want to show you some freezing cold January pictures now. Icy cold, brrrrrrrrrrrr. We've had low, low temperatures here of late. No snow yet this year, but quite a bit of frost and ice.

These pictures were taken a couple weeks ago in mid January, and it's the same scene at the moment too. The canal is frozen over and the poor ducks and swans are slip sliding across the ice.

There are still a fair few canal boats coming and going when the ice thaws and they can travel the waterways. It always looks so cozy when you see a boat with a steady plume of wood smoke rising from the chimney. That smell of icy air and woodsmoke will forever remind me of this town in wintertime, I've come to love it very much. It smells like Home.

And the Attic view in January? Some incredible golden-pink morning light.....

.....and some welcome low afternoon sunshine.

Oh, and lots of white frosty stuff too. Mind you, for many days in January there has been no view to speak of as the hill has been completely obscured. It really has mostly been a month of damp, wet and grey.

My January mosaic isn't damp and grey though, it seems I've been subconsciously combatting the weather with lots of colour, warmth and coziness inside.

Fresh flowers, green shoots, colourful yarn, delicious baking, snuggly socks, roaring flames, cozy blankets, sweet creativity. January goodness.

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♥ Four Things ♥

Four Things that are making me feel warm and cosy this afternoon......

:: Thing #1 :: out of my window :: A perfect Wintry view ::

We only had a small flurry of sleety snow this morning, and most of what landed yesterday has now melted away. The surrounding hills are still dressed in their gorgeous winter-white coats though, it looks soo beautiful, peaceful and serene.

Thing #2 :: in my kitchen ::  The delicious wafting smell of tonights dinner cooking ::

I was recently given a super little book by my mother-in-law, and every recipe I've tried so far has been a terrific success. The book's called Easy Slow Cooker and I can highly recommend it. It's a lovely feeling to come home from the school run, open the front door and smell the dinner cooking away all by itself. Marvelous!

:: Thing #3 :: on my sofa :: A sweetly sleeping Little B ::

How I love my quiet, gentle after-lunch hour when Little B takes his nap! It allows me some breathing space in the middle of the day when I can just relax and be Me for a wee while. I love to sit quietly nearby with a hot cup of tea and and listen to the sweet sound of his rhythmic breathing. It's one of the most soothing sounds I know.

:: Thing #4 :: on my table :: hooky holly in progress ::

Yayyyyyyyyyyyy!! Holly leaves are happening!! Whilst Little B slept this afternoon, I sat in the bay window and worked like the clappers to get the holly leaf tutorial photographed for you. Just need to upload the thirty five pictures and write up the words to go with them, will try and do that this evening if I can.

Ps I've got this type of slow cooker and love love love it. I just need to remember to use it more often. Going to make a slow-cook curry on Thursday I think. Or maybe Moroccan lamb meatballs? Or maybe beef with cheesy dumplings? Mmmmmmm I love Winter cooking!

 

 

 

 

 

Winter has Landed

We were in no way expecting to be greeted with the white stuff when we opened our front door this morning, it was a real surprise. The LP were beside themselves with such sweet, visible, unchecked excitement! They jumped and danced and yelped, it was a fabulously joyful start to our morning. What with snow outside and chocolate from their advent calendars, plus the appearance of the Singing Snowman toy who's on annual release from the attic eaves, well, you never did see such hyper children.

As soon as it got light, I ran (literally) up two flights of stairs to go and sit peacefully in the attic window seat for a few minutes, taking in the wintry scene. Above picture was taken just before 8 o'clock....

....and fifteen minutes later it became apparent that the school run was going to be Rather Snowy Indeed. Fresh falling snow combined with a strong wind meant that we stumbled slowly to school in near blizzard conditions. Snowball fights the whoooooooole way. Winter has certainly landed with a bump here.

Our town lit up it's Christmas lights a few weeks ago, I love love love that they are white. As much as I adore coloured lights, there's something incredibly beautiful about white lights in abundance.

I took these photos just over a week ago, it was Sunday teatime and Little Man and I were running an Important Errand together. After a family discussion it had been decided that we would have a spontaneous fish and chip supper, so off Little Man and I toddled to our local chippy. We could have walked along the canal, but instead we took the roundabout route to go down through the High Street, specifically to take in the lights.

Trees that grow all year round out of the pavements and cobbles have had their branches entwined with lights, it's looks sooooo sparkly and pretty!

These are the very same decorations that have appeared at Christmastime ever since we moved here four years ago, but I am still wowed by them.

Wow. WOW! Love love loveeeee LOVE these round ones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Inside and we are ever so gently tiptoeing towards Christmas. I caved in and brought down the Christmas House Tin about a fortnight ago, after much nagging from two of my L'il Peeps. The third Little Peep is too young to remember this sweet tin from Christmases past, but he is totally enjoying the idea of daily chocolate to the sound of music.

I still can't find my holly. It's definitely Missing in Action. But I have started to make some more, and just need to find some kid-free daylight time to photograph the tutorial for you. I'm really enjoying making them, I'm using a slim 3mm hook and some non-stranded embroidery thread and they're turning out beautifully. As well as using them to trim up my bunting (the felt wording is still in hot debate by the way), I'd love to make enough to add to a hooky wreath creation I've got frantically whizzing around in my mind at the moment. I'm thinking a yarn wrapped wreath covered in crochet holly, pom poms, stars, beads, buttons, baubles, bells and birds. Sort of a cross between this, this and this. I've already purchased the polystyrene ring thingy in anticipation, and I am mega excited about the whole creative wreathy thing.

Gosh, festive bunting and wreaths, the stuff of my creative Winter Dreams. Sooooosososoosoooo excited!!!!!!!!!!!

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Cosy Work

 

Looks like someone stole my hills today, they completely vanished in a puff of fog. Pfffffffffff, gone. It's been such a gloomy day today weather-wise, but inside Number 24 life has felt rather sweet, cosy and homely and not at all gloomy.

A five-in-the-bed cuddly start. Tea and toast. Baking. A little laundry handling. Frothy coffee with aforementioned baking. Pottering. Playing. Reading. Fire lighting. Chatting. Mulled wine and toasted marshmallows. Oh, and some cosy hooky work too............

I managed to persuade J to hold the fort with Little B this afternoon whilst I spent time making and photographing a tutorial for the Pretty Trim. As I mentioned, we've had extremely low light levels here today so even when I positioned myself directly in the Attic window the light wasn't very good for photographing I'm afraid. I did my best though (almost gave up at one point), as I really, really want to get this done for you so that you can get busy Trimming.

There's the result of two solid hours hooking, with forty-four accompanying photographs.

Do you know that while I'm writing this post, I'm simultaneously uploading pictures to a tutorial page, cos I really want to make it happen and my time is very limited. So I write a sentence on this post, hop across, upload picture number eighteen to the tutorial page. Hop back. Brain racing at eightytwomilesanhour. Another sentence or two. Hop across, upload picture number nineteen to the tutorial.

Of course I've yet to actually write the words for the tutorial, but will try and shimmy that procedure into the next few days. Somehow. Because you are soooooooooooooo worth it. And I love that you love what I do. Soooooooooooo much. You make me very happy, you know that?

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{{{{{{   THE TUTORIAL IS DONE!!!!   }}}}}}

It's called "Pretty Crochet Trim" and can be found in my left hand sidebar down at the bottom with all my other patterns. Or click {{HERE}} to go to it. Have lots of hooky fun! xxxxxxxx

 

 

 

October 2011

Isn't this October calendar page sooo atmospheric and Autumnal? Little B (who LoVeS ducks) has enjoyed this month's picture and has regularly been found quacking at the calendar. 

So...October has been and gone, it's felt like a long month! I've been looking back through my photo archives to remind myself what I've been up to during the past 31 days. Honestly, my memory is seriously shot through, I can hardly remember yesterday let alone weeks ago. I just realised that I've slipped out of the habit of making my monthly mosaics, no reason for it mind you, it's somehow just not happened. However, I felt inspired to create a visual summary of October, so here it is.......

...doesn't seem quite as colourful as usual, but it does perfectly sum up the month for me, most especially the change of seasons. September still felt very much like it had it's feet rooted in Summer, whereas October most definitely swung itself into Autumn.

We've had some incredible skies throughout October, with some awesome bright and clear sunshiney Autumn days.....

.....some incredible early morning sunrise colours.....

....and some magical early evening sunsets.

It makes me smile to notice how many of my photos each month are taken with the camera pointed sky-wards! I never tire of observing the weather, the light, the clouds, I'm continously enchanted by the rhythm of the seasons played out in the skies.

Last week as I think I mentioned, the family was roosting at home for half term hols and during this time I tried to take a few pics of the way we spent our at-home days. One of the things I adore about blog writing (more so the longer I stick at it) is the way it allows me to capture a tiny bit of the Little People's childhood. I look back at my blog writing over the years and I am incredibly grateful to myself (!!) for taking the time and effort to photograph and write about our Ordinary Life. It allows me to peek back through a small window into the past if you like. Posts like this, this and this. Just plain ol' family life at home, but oh so precious for their Ordinariness.
So in no particular order, here are some visual snips from last week's activities....

:: chalking pictures on the road outside the house ::

:: Little Lady, bubble blowing for her wee brother ::

:: Little Lady's Knitty Suitcase after a knitting spell on the sofa ::

:: den-building. The sofa was pulled forward and a long, thin hideaway was created behind ::

:: Little B loving the Brio train track, inherited from his big brother ::

:: Little Man, hanging on the street with four of his buddies, all on their wheels ::

:: helping Little Man to master simple origami boat building (instructions here) ::

:: me, working on some ideas for new Christmas decs (tweaking still needed) ::

Sigh. They grow sooo fast don't they? Heart warming to see that some simple things are remaining constant across the years (bubble blowing, chalking, den building with blankets).

Cripes, I am sighing a lot writing this post, I'm glad you can't hear me!! I'm feeling quite reflective I guess. It's good though, to look back and view the patterns of one's life. Good in a sighing sort of a way.

Right, lets view some Views shall we?? A selection of October vistas from the Attic window then....

Lovely.

Last week we finally felt the cold creep in and lit the fire for the first time, more than a month later than last year. It was absolutely wonderful I have to say. Makes the Autumn season Official somehow, when the first frost has been and the first fire's been lit.

Only sixty one days left of this year you know.

*Sigh*

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