Attic24

Connievan-ing

♥Hello!♥ I am so sorry for my continuing absence here in the Attic....I keep wanting to apologise for life keeping me away from my blog, even though I know there's no need for an appology.  But I do feel genuinely sorry that the days and weeks continue to slip by and there remains so very much I wish to write about, so many pictures stacking up, completed projects etc etc blah blah, well you've heard it all before eh. You know by now that when my Attic door stays closed it's generally because life is f-u-l-l. To the brim. But it's oh-so-good here in the Attic, ahh yes, my family life is full to bursting but very good right now. Lots of time spent with the ones i love, it can be nothing but good.

We are into one of my most favouritist holidays of the whole year, it's "May Spring Bank Week" here in the UK. You may remember that last year we took our beloved Connievan on a Jolly Holiday up to the north east coast (you can read about it here), such a terrific holiday, so many wonderful happy memories from that week. Marvelous.

We took Connievan out for one night last weekend, our first trip of the season. We stayed fairly local so that we could get my father in law to bob along and help us with a bit of fettling (the water heater/electrics needed fixing). Plus we kind of felt like we needed a short local trip to reacquaint with the business of accommodating five of us within a small space on wheels. It went OK, it was a huge learning curve dealing with Little B who was a Stationary Being last time we carravanned. Having him walking/climbing this year is a mixed blessing, cripes he kept us busy. But cripes did he LOVE our Connievan!

So the blankets have been installed in their summer residence, we miss them here at number 24 but it was lovely to see them snuggled in the 'van too.

Anyhooooo, tomorrow we're jaunting off up to the north west coast, to a rural/coastal place near the Lake District. We're booked into another very small campsite on a working farm, we are all very much looking forward to it and are keeping all available body parts crossed for good weather.

☼ Wish us luck! ☼

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Dorset Spring 2011 :: Little Pleasures

:: Little Man standing proudly beside his beach-creation, asking me sweetly if I could photograph it to show you all in the Attic. I think it thrills him to be able to tell his friends "my feet are On The Internet you know" ::

:: Little B delighting in his surroundings, he really, really loved the pebbles. He loved banging them together, turning them over and over in his hands, licking them (eew), and throwing them. Jeez, that boy can throw! We figured out on that first morning that we all had to be very careful not to sit in his direct line of projection. Far too dangerous ::

:: Loved watching my wee boy examine the various beaches we visited. There aren't many shells here, so when his big sister found one and gave it to him to play with, his little face honestly lit up, such a delight ::

:: Awwwwwwwwwwwwww!! Little feet in little crocs, they are indeed very, very cutesome! My friend passed the baby crocs on to us when her daughter grew out of them, so it was pure coincidence that I also wear red ones. The above photo was Little B at the local park, just about to toddle off to climb up and whheeeeee down the slide ::

:: Making daisy chains on the front lawn at my Mums' house. Hmmmmm, Little Lady's painted finger nails, what can I say? I truthfully don't like her wearing nail varnish at all, but I allow her to have it on at the beginning of school holidays. I wonder if you can guess who's idea it was to alternate the colours, hers or mine???? ::

 

:: I would like to tell you that I created this arty natural sculpture, but no, it was in fact a pebble tower built purely for the boys' target practice session. It didn't even last a minute before I was sent to re-build it, honestly, what is it with my men folk and their throwing capabilities? ::

:: whilst on Eype beach collecting driftwood for the camp fire, Little Lady discovered this truly incredible pebble, it really made us smile :o) ::

:: I have a nostalgic love for these sweet pebbles-within-pebbles that I remember being fascinated with as a child. My Little Peeps gathered these ones for me, Little Lady says they look like our family represented in pebble form. I've got them sitting on the windowsill behind my desk, a lovely reminder of our holiday ::

:: Appreciating the bluebells in B's garden. We don't often get to see them in full flower as we are usually down in dorset too early, but this year a late  Easter combined with very warm  sunny weather had brought them into full flower ::

:: Little Lady's new purchase from Bridport toy shop. She saved up her pocket money for weeks in order to buy herself something special whilst on holiday, and after a huge amount of indecision and over excitement in the shop (always the case) she settled for this cute little Blythe doll. It accompanied her everywhere ::

:: Admiring the beautiful wisteria whilst enjoying a morning cuppa in an Abbotsbury cafe garden before climbing up to St Catherines Chapel ::

:: my toasted teacake that accompanied my tea in the wisteria-clad garden was delicious. The Little People had huge tall glasses of milkshake (declared yummy) and Little B slept soundly throughout ::

:: visiting Bridport's famous Saturday street market, always a pleasure. The above picture is of a traditional little greengrocers on South Street where we stopped to buy a bag of sweet tomatoes to munch on as we walked the mile back to the house. Isn't it wonderful to see such traditional and beautiful little shops still thriving? The market itself was fabulous this year, although extremely crowded. It's grown into a wonderful mixture of traditional market stalls (clothes, plants, food etc) alongside a whole street dedicated to bric a brac and vintage (a few pictures of the market here, to give you an idea of the atmosphere). Lots to see, tempt and inspire, I'll show you my purchases in a mo....::

:: Ahhhhhhhhhhh a visit *all-by-myself* to the most wondrous Girls Own Store, yippeeeee!!! I managed to wangle a whole TWO hours solo shopping/browsing time in Bridport which included the market, charity shops and a few other choice places such as this one. My-my, I do so love it in this shop. Aside from the desirable merchandise,  the colour of the walls really sends my heart racing. Gorgeous. I made a few modest purchases in here, a red enamel mug and an enamel milk pan, both for Connievan ::

:: Vintage paraphernalia, gosh so very many objects-of-desire to be found at Bridport market. Lots of it was vastly overpriced in my humble opinion, but I couldn't resist shelling out six pounds for this darling little vintage enamel jug, it was love at first sight ::

:: I treated myself to a new mug from a funny little interior shop which has a surprisingly gorgeous collection of ceramics. It's by designer Gabriella Miller from her "Hippy" collection and I love drinking from it...it's beautifully heavy with a great handmade sort of feel to it ::

:: Oooooooooooo, now then, some stripy goodness!! I think every market in England probably has a Sock Stall doesn't it? These were very cheap, they're over the knee socks that I intend to wear with skirt and boots in the wintertime as i don't like wearing tights. Funnily enough I looked everywhere for these last winter and couldn't find them anywhere, well not in nice colours anyways. Very much looking forward to wearing them, although not for a while yet I hope ::

:: I bought some melamine cups by one of my fave companies Rice DK. I've lusted after these for a long time (along with stacks of other Rice products which cause The Wanties really badly). Like the enamel bits I bought, these are destined for Connievan...I'm thinking that tomorrow (!!) I shall be sitting in the 'van drinking chilled vino from the pink one! ::

:: 6am, sitting in the early morning sun wearing my favourite pyjamas, hooking up some stripes. Hot cup of tea to the right, sunlight streaming in through the window, this was my blissful early morning holiday ritual. The Stripy Something is almost finished, I'll be showing you very soon when it's all done and dusted ::

♥ wow, I've so enjoyed putting these holiday posts together, most especially this one. There's something appealing about a collection of random, mismatched snapshots which somehow seem to hold so much. These pictures to me just say "happy-happy-happy", which is what our family holiday time was I guess. Yes, it really was a hugely HaPpY week for us all.

♥ Thank you as always for sharing it with me, it seems to intensify the experience of remembering when I write it all out and then add in your wonderful comments on top. Thank you, thank you ♥

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Dorset Spring 2011 :: The Countryside

I was having a discussion with my Dad last week about the differences between our respective Countrysides, ie the landscape of South West Dorset that I grew up with (and where he still lives) and the landscape of North Yorkshire which I now call home. He described the Dorset countryside as being " gentle and soft", and I totally get what he means. The hills are generally smaller, with the fields divided by hedges as opposed to the hard dry stone walls of Yorkshire. And yes, it does give the impression of being Gentle. At this time of year, it's also amazingly green and lush looking too.

When we visit Dorset we naturally gravitate towards the coast, but there are a couple of favourite "must-go-to's" which are inland. The picture above shows the impossibly beautiful village of Abbotsbury, which is the starting point for a short, sweet climb up to an amazing place :: St Catherines Chapel. We were here on 20th April, it was a terrifically hot Wednesday as I remember, not a cloud in the sky all day.

There....you can see the chapel perched on top of the hill as if it's sat there waiting for us to arrive. I'm carrying Little B on my back in a carrier, just as I did six years ago when Little Lady was a weeny tot. Uh-huh, we've been coming up to this particular spot to picnic and admire the view for many years. We are regulars to St C's.

Abbotsbury gets smaller and smaller as we climb higher and higher...

...and the coast also comes into view. That little strip of water in the distance is part of the Fleet Lagoon, it's an amazing part of coastline that always fascinated me as a child.

Gorgeous views whichever way you look...if you take a quick squizzy here, you can get a better impression of the chapel's location in relation to the coast/chesil beach, it is totally stunning. I love it.

It's an impressive building, this one. It looks and feels beautifully ancient (it's over 600 years old) and makes me instinctively want to sort of hold my breath and tiptoe around it with respect for it's grand age and Holiness. The Little People do not get it when I try and explain this to them. They hurtle in and out of it's ancient doors, run hell for leather around and around the perimeter playing chase. They go inside and shout at each other to test the awesome echo. I shhhhhhhhhhhhhh them. I ask them to treat this ancient and holy building with respect. They eventually hush down a little, and I spread out a rug and we lean our backs against the old warm walls and enjoy a lovely picnic lunch. Which is precisely what we do every single time we come to St Catherines Chapel, it's another one of our little traditions. I'm sure next year they'll be doing the same sort of running/yelling (along with Little B who is just learning the delights of running and shouting) and I'll be doing the same sort of shhhhsssshing all over again. Then we'll all sit down to eat lunch and admire the view. It's the way it is with us at St C's.

The above picture is another one of our must-go-to places, I know I've chatted about this place before. We usually come up here to fly our kite, but since the kite mysteriously disappeared (not difficult in the chaos that is our cellar), this year we came up here simply to enjoy the light, space, height, views and the roly-polying possibilities.

It's early evening, about 5.30ish, and we are here to eat/drink/stroll/view/roll/toddle/play/sit. As always, I am simultaneously calmed and intoxicated by the sense of space, the scale of the landscape (quite high/expansive for Dorset) and the wonderful golden end-of-day light.

I am thrilled to discover so many cowslips growing too, I don't remember ever seeing so many here before.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh the beautiful Dorset countryside, in all it's soft, gentle, undulating glory!

There look, you can see where we chose to lay down our blanket and picnic for the second meal that day (our lunch was eaten in the photos above at St C's chapel, two picnics in one day, hows that for good going?). It's beautifully sheltered down in the dip between the ridges, and crucially it's safe for Little B who would most certainly not be safe on top of the ridge. Best keep his toddling ways confined to the dip.

After we've eaten, I leave J and the Little Peeps playing frisby and hunting down caterpillars, and off I toddle to enjoy a few moments to myself. I walk along the very top of the ridge and marvel at  my own shadow. I reflect on the day, how long and glorious it's been, how many of it's hours we've spent outdoors (at least 8, getting on for 9 by now). I think how much the Little People seem to have enjoyed it, how Little B is growing into the family so beautifully (he loves picnic eating as it happens, the cold sausages, tomatoes, crisps and strawberries barely touched the sides, not to mention the chocolate). And for the umpteenth time this holiday I think how lovely it is that I can share this little patch of my Childhood with my own children year after year. How heart warming that they are growing to love it as much as I do, that my own childhood memories are being layered with theirs.

Sigh. Such happiness. Lucky, lucky me.

Tomorrow, one last chapter...see you then xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Dorset Spring 2011 :: The Coast

We always drive down to Dorset in the evenings, setting off around 6pm and arriving 300 miles later in the dark of the night. The Dorset Dark always smells completely delicious to me, a nostalgic mix of fresh wet grass and salty night air. I really look forward to that first moment when I step out of the car, stretch my legs and take in a great big breath of night scent. Home. I still get that coming-home feeling when I smell that delicious Dorset night smell, even though it's been 24 years since I left to step out into the big wide world.

The first morning of a holiday away from home is magical don't you think? We wake early of course, no matter where we are sleeping, because we have little-people-shaped alarm clocks. Any time after 6am is a lay in for us, I kid you not. But I've grown to love being "up and at'em" in the early morning, it allows for the day to unfold in a leisurely fashion and a gradual gearing up for the delights ahead. 

We see the sun rise on our first early morning in Dorset. It rises bright and red into a cloudless blue Springtime sky and promises to deliver a welcome dose of good weather. We know that we'll soon be heading down to the sea to enjoy our traditional first-breakfast-of-the-holiday by the harbour at West Bay. Sitting at the weathered wooden tables eating bacon rolls and drinking fresh frothy coffee, it's Sooooo Very Good. Warm morning sun on my face and the sound of seagulls in my ears, such a perfect start to the week for sure.

After breakfast we head round to the beach....

...I linger on the promenade and watch as my sweet family go about their beachy business. It's the first time Little B is able to actually walk on the beach as our last visit was eight months ago and he wasn't even crawling then I don't think. His seaside toddling is so precious to watch.

Ahhhhh so warm, I remember it was so warm that morning!

I just love love love the Dorset coastline. It holds a large part of my childhood and I love it dearly for that. I love that it is so familiar, that I can name each of those clifftops stretching out into the distance, that I've climbed over them all too. The above picture is of Lyme Regis, which I've written about before, such a cutesome place it really is.

We are here on a hot afternoon visiting with my good friend who lives here. We walk down from the town to the beach via the picturesque gardens, much as we did back in August. In fact it feels like August, the heat is incredible for an April day, much more like high summer than mid spring. The beach is crowded, but we find a quiet spot and settle down to let the Little People do their thing.

The afternoon ticks along, sand is scooped, built, piled. I take Little B for a tentative paddle in the shallow sun warmed waters, but he cries and attempts to levitate, not wishing his feet to touch the water At All. No Thankyou. But with some gentle encouragement and persistence he finally allows his feet to lower, and he is happy then, stamping his little feet in the watery sand with a big grin on his face.

The late afternoon turns to early evening. We drink chilled white wine and chatter, my friend and I, while the children play and the men folk do the decent thing and go forth to gather food for us all. Fish and chips, eaten with fingers, just perfect.

During the week we were in Dorset the weather remained remarkable for April. Day after day we awoke to cloudless blue skies and brilliant sunshine. But not only that, it was hot too, just glorious for all the beachy outings we had in mind. We visited the coast pretty much every day, sometimes for breakfast, sometimes for morning coffee with extended family (my brother, sister in law and two nephews were also holidaying), sometimes for picnic lunch. But my favourite time to beach was in the late afternoon, with something tasty planned for dinner.

The above beach is at Burton Bradstock and is one of our favourite places to go. It's a lovely stretch of unspoilt coastline, with the added bonus of a great cafe should you have need for it (my-my, I do adore the carrot cake at The Hive cafe, I certainly always have need for it)

We visited Burton beach on several occasions, but the most memorable time was one late afternoon when we set up camp and cooked our dinner on the barbecue. A mug of hot tea with chocolate easter eggs to finish off. Mmmmmmmmmm.

I think my most favourite beach of all is to be found at Eype (pronounced "Eeep"). I love it for it's unspoilt quality :: here at Eype beach there is nothing in the way of facilities. Not a thing. It's just you, the cliffs, the pebbles and the sea.

And it always seems to me to be at it's most appealing in the later part of the day. I've written about our visits here before, we seem to be building some terrific memories at this beach, they take root in my heart and I know I shall remember these times with huge affection.

On this particular day (23rd April, our last night of the holiday) we are here at Eype beach towards the close of day, round about 6pm. We are not alone, many folk have the same idea as us, but the beach is big enough for us to find a quiet little spot. We've already eaten but have drinks and snacks to hand, and the idea strikes us that maybe we could build a small camp fire. We find a place where someone before us has had the same idea, it's a ready-made fireplace. Perfect. We send the Little People off on a driftwood gathering expedition, they are incredibly excited at the prospect of building and lighting a Real Fire.

It gives me a huge rush of pleasure to watch my Little Peeps enjoy the delights of the beach, especially at this time of day when normally all would be winding down towards sleep. They have no intention of winding down when they can run and throw, climb and explore. I love their energy. Love their excitement. It makes me so happy to watch them.

And lets not forget Little B :: he is up way past his bedtime but seems more than happy with this arrangement. He's not able to walk very well on the big pebbly beach, so he sits with J and I and watches his big brother and sister as they leap about.

J takes charge of the fire (of course) and the driftwood lights up beautifully.

We sit around it, warm our hands and toes...

....drink tea and eat chocolate.

It's a perfectly scrumptious early evening.

We stay until the sun goes down,  enjoying the last part of a very beautiful and memorable day.

Ahhhhhhhhhh, deep contented sigh :o).......amazing to revisit our holiday four weeks on, to remember how very very Good it was! Our days were so full of Good Things, it was wonderful.

Tomorrow I'll be leaving the coast and bringing you The Countryside, join me for lots of greenery and views won't you?

See you then

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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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yoohooo!!

Hellooooooo!!!! Am flying by to say I'm so sorry I've not been about much just lately, I feel like my feet are barely touching the ground at the moment. My life is coming through one of it's periodic crazy-busy phases, with my normal pottering routine nowhere to be found.

J's been at home a lot in the past couple of weeks, first on holiday, then working some weird late hours (4pm-midnight) which meant he was with us during the day. And as we were having such gorgeous weather, we chose to gad about here there and everywhere during those precious daylight hours, I don't think I've ever had so many picnics or outings in one month before.  It has been quite giddy and wonderful to spend so much time with J, we've had a lot of fun together. But a teensy bit of me has missed my own space and company, I've had very little time to kind of catch my breath in the past couple of weeks. I think that sometimes when life goes Full Tilt, all you can do is laugh, enjoy the ride and hope you don't fall and crash. Try to temporarily forget that you've no time for hooky, no time to skip in Blogland. Try to ignore the pile of caravan curtains waiting for revamp, the overflowing laundry basket, the growing chaos in the house. Because life is for living and sometimes you have to simply go with the flow, however speedy that flow may be.

This week I've got my Dad and his Lady staying with us, so I am nowhere near getting back to "normal" yet. Which is why I wanted to bob in here quickly whilst wearing my rosy jimjams to wave and call out a quick yoooooohooooooo, to let you know I'm OK. I will be back as soon as I am able. I've got half a May Calendar post written, plus oodles of photos from my Dorset holiday still to share. Oh and THREE hooky projects that I've yet to show you!

See you soon, I miss you xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx