Attic24

Moments

:: Morning table before breakfast ::



:: my yarn basket after my crochet night with friends last night ::



:: working (slowly) on a yarn bombing project ::



:: Little B creating a watercolour interpretation of my flowers ::



:: clear blue sky this morning, and the caw-caw of jackdaws on the chimney ::



:: a quick breakfast eaten outside ::



:: lots of TLC and first aid for Little B after a running tumble this morning ::



:: we continue our in-depth study of the Human Body. Today, fighting germs ::



:: the result of a session at Messy Hands playgroup ::



:: baking buns, with Little B in charge of egg-cracking, bowl licking and sprinkle application ::



:: putting away clean laundry and loving Little Lady's windowsill play ::



:: enjoying our school run at this time of year ::



:: making salsa salad to go with a favourite family meal :: chicken fajitas ::



:: paper napkins are essential for fajita eating, it's a messy business! ::

:: a few quiet moments taking in the evening view and the sound of church bells ::



:: my bed, waiting for me to go to it. A little bit of hooky first though ::

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Better

This weekend has been low key and uneventful, a few days of nothing much and it has been wonderful. I've stayed close to home, only heading out for an hour this morning to go and get essential food supplies. I've slept rather a lot, falling asleep at odd times on the sofa with the Little People coming and going around me. It's as if my physical needs just took over and for once I allowed it to happen. I feel much better. My head is clearing (finally) and my finger....well, it is better but not better. I can crochet in short bursts, but only if I hold my yarn/work in a different way, so it's a bit slow going. But better than last week, yes, loads better.

I picked flowers just now you know. A most scrumptious little posy gathered from the front garden (a rose, alchemilla and geranium) and the back yard (honeysuckle, daisies and chives). Oh so good to have those stems in my hand!

I love that precise moment when a little jug is filled with water and the posy is popped into it just exactly as it was held in my hand. Pop! Then ta-dah!

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

I've had some renewed energy in my mind and body this afternoon so I decided to put it to good use and paint. Yeah, and why not? I bought this super-cute little pine shelf hand made by Les the Woodman last week and it was delivered on Saturday. I'm so pleased with it, it's exactly what I've been looking for as a photo-prop for the studio. I'm going to hang it on the wall near my window so I can use it for photographing my crochet items, either on the shelf or hanging from the shaker-style pegs underneath.

I blagged the half-tin of paint from Tracy, she's already used it to paint a couple pieces of furniture in the studio and I thought it would be lovely if my shelf was the same colour. It's an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous shade of blue called Blue Ground by Farrow & Ball. I have totally fallen in love with it and have had to stop myself going off around the house to paint random pieces of furniture in Blue Ground.

It has felt good to do this today, I am so glad to be feeling a bit better. A bit more on top, a bit more *me* again.

A funny thing happened earlier. As I was uploading these photographs to my laptop I had a sudden memory of repetition. Sure enough, when I looked back through my archives I discovered an almost identical jug of flowers on almost the exact same date in June last year. Not only that, but the whole post from last year contained pretty much the exact same feelings that I've been experiencing this past week. I can't make up my mind whether this weird repetitive annual rhythm is a good thing or a bad thing, but truthfully I don't suppose it matters. So long as life is on the up, then that has to be good.

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Summer Solstice 2013

This time of year is really special I think, and in my mind I always picture Summer Solstice as being the top of a big sunny hill after a slow climb up out of winter and spring. Climbing, climbing until the summit is reached and the long day stretches out as far as it can possibly go. Arriving at the Longest Day of the year seems to me like something worth celebrating.

For some reason, the rest of my family do not share my love of Solstice. Year after year I try my best to rouse some shared excitement for these important days in December and June, and year after year I end up feeling as if I am a total nutcase for caring so much about it.

It's the Longest Day, we must celebrate it, it's special and important don't you know. Blank looks, a little bit of mild eye rolling. Yeah, yeah, if you say so, they say. Well yes, I DO say so, and we WILL make it a special day.

Yesterday, after a  day of grey clouds and spitty rain, by early evening it was miraculously glorious. We packed up some food and as soon as J came home from work, we all jumped in the car and headed up to Connievan. I felt sure this would be a great place to spend the end of the longest day, to sit in the glow of the evening and soak up the sun's rays right through till dark.

Re-homing Connievan to this little green corner of the Yorkshire Dales is one of the best decisions we've made in ages and is already providing us with a great deal of family happiness. The Little People no longer complain when I ask them to pack a few essentials for a night away here. In fact, they seem positively happy about going, which makes me very happy indeed.

Yesterday, something wonderful happened. For the first time, both Little People found other Little People to play with. Little Lady was first, confidently introducing herself and Little B to a gang of three girls who were busy doing cartwheels across the grass. Little Man took a while longer to find his confidence, but eventualy he and his scooter struck up a friendship with two boys and their scooters, and I couldn't have been happier. For them of course, cos finding new friends to play with totally made their evening, but also for J and I who suddenly had some unexpected peace and quiet to sit and just reeeeelax with each other.

I adore my Rice melamine tumbers and much prefer them to wine glasses when we are at Connievan. I always have the pink one for my Sauvignon Blanc, but oooo I have my beady eyes on this one now, so pretty!

The evening passed incredibly quickly, and before I knew it, it was almost ten o'clock. The Little People asked if we could go for a walk, they wanted to climb the hill behind the campsite. My heart squeezed a little and I thought what a perfectly perfect activity for Summer Solstice that would be. To climb a grassy hill as the light fades, to appreciate the beauty of the summer landscape on the longest day of the year, well yes, count me right in. I'm coming!

It was truly lovely. Slugs somehow got into LL's crocs and LM took a tumble into a stinging nettle patch, but we'll overlook those little mishaps shall we? It was lovely, really it was.

The moon was rising up behind the hill as we climbed back down, but it was still daylight at 10.30pm. A magical end to a long and beautiful day.

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Edit to add :: thanks to Gill for pointing me to this beautifully written article on the BBC website

 

 

 

 

 

 

Virtual Gardening

When my Dad and Lady B came to stay back in May, one of the lovely day trips we took was to Salts Mill in Saltaire. My Dad is a David Hockney fan and as it's only a short journey away from Atticland it seemed like a great idea to hop on the train and go to gaze at some artwork.

I really love Salts Mill, I've written about it before on my blog when I've been with the Little People. It's hugely inspiring, with an atmosphere that is both refined and exuberant. The building itself is really amazing, as is the artwork (I am also a Hockney fan) but it's the merchandise which blows me away every time. There is soooooooo much Good Stuff for sale here! Art materials, cards, stationery and a truly jaw dropping selection of books, all beautifully displayed and utterly desirable.

Even if you end up keeping your purse firmly shut in here (near impossible), it is still hugely enjoyable to spend a good hour or two browsing. Ahhhh the joy of browsing....not quite so easy with a three year old. But actually, to be honest Little B was remarkably well behaved in here, and he loved looking at all the books.

When a weeny amount of tension started to creep into the browsing, we headed straight through to Salts Diner for a spot of refreshment.

I had a frothy cappuccino and some rather delicious toasted crumpets slathered in butter and Tiptree jam. The tension slipped away and I felt refreshed and revitalised.

After finishing round two of browsing in Salts Mill and after I had made one or two purchases (nope, my purse did not stay shut, it refused), we went out to stroll in nearby Roberts Park.

This was back in mid May and the blossom and magnolia trees were in full magnificent bloom. It was so pretty!

Our walk around the park ended in an impromptu detour to the decking of the Boathouse Inn right beside the river. I don't usually drink in the daytime, but having my Dad there made it feel like I was on holidays so I ordered a beer at the bar without even thinking about it. Goodness me, it felt rather naughty to be sat beside the river sipping ice cold beer in the middle of a School Day afternoon! Naughty but rather nice. Mmmmmm, happy memories :o)

Anyhow, sorry, didn't mean to get caught up in Memory Lane. I have to show you what made me open my purse in Salts Mill...........

It was this. Port-a-Plant. What do you think? Isn't it just a delight?

Look! Plants you can't kill, and no watering or sunlight required!  Instant, virtual gardening, and in full colour too.

I've been waiting for an opportunity to bring my Port-a-Plants to life, and with me not being able to crochet at the moment, today seemed a good day to get creative with cardboard instead.

All the components (pots, plants and leaves) are printed onto sheets of card and pre-cut, so all you have to do it press out the pieces and slot them together. No cutting, no gluing, just happy, mess-free assembly.

Oh I had the best time growing my plants!

It was really great fun. A little bit fiddly at times (my leaves did keep popping off), but with a little bit of concentrated effort I was soon well under way.

Oooooo I like this kind of gardening, I like it very much. I like how instant it is, and how insanely satisfying and nostalgic.

I think the finished results are great, well they pleased me enormously at any rate. Simple but effective.

I think they look very at home on top of my studio shelves, they've delivered some big happy smiles today for sure.

If you'd like to try this sort of indoor gardening (and I can highly recommend it), here is where you can equip yourself....

Port-a-Plant (Amazon.co.uk) :: Port-a-Plant (Amazon.com)

On our way home from the studio this afternoon, Little B persuaded me to walk back "The Tricky Way". This involves walking down Back Bridge Street and then along a precarious narrow path with no fence and a sheer drop straight down into the beck below. The path finally (with a huge sigh of relief) comes up a steep flight of old stone steps to emerge on the canal tow path. It is a short cut of sorts and very picturesque, but boy oh boy, I swear I hold my breath the whole time and almost feel like I want to pee my pants with nervousness. Anyhow.....walking along Back Bridge Street, I was completely captivated by this gorgeous garden outside a small run of town houses there.

I just loved the exuberant climbers under-planted with a mixture of plants and flowers and crucially the way it looked delightfully low maintenance.

This is definitely giving me some inspiring ideas for my own little back yard. I would love a more permanent set up with much more greenery. Maybe some raised beds for climbers that I can under-plant with shrubs, bulbs and perennials. Perhaps not this year, but I would love to alter the way I garden so's that I can remove the annual guilt factor. I think this year I will mostly be a Virtual Gardener. A Planner and a Dreamer in readiness for next year.

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Just Now

Just now I spent a while in the Attic gazing at the view and thinking what a perfect midsummer evening it is. Then I came down two flights of stairs, walked through the kitchen and out the back door, out of the yard, up the cobbled back street and on up the road to go pick cow parsley from the footpath. There were some rogue blue flowers growing amongst the wild stuff, so I picked a stem  of them too.

Returned home and added in some honeysuckle and alchemilla, and plopped the straggly little bunch into an old jar. Went outside  to the table and removed the pot containing last year's dead geranium. Replaced it with the jar of just picked flowers. Sighed with relief and appreciation. Much better.



Came inside, made myself a mug of hot tea and cut a generous wedge of lemon drizzle cake that I baked this afternoon with Little B. Back outside to sit, sip, scoff, listen and ponder in the still warm evening. It was a moment of peaceful tranquility. Time all to myself after another full, busy day.

♥

Thank you so much for all your words of comfort, reassurance and understanding yesterday. Gosh I was having a bit of a pity party I think! I keep forgetting that I've been quite unwell recently, and that I am still on the tail end of those germs. My ears are still weird and my head is still cotton woolish, and I can't taste or smell very well and I'm still feeling very drained. Plus I'm still rather concerned about my silly finger, and that constant worry has been nagging at me. I think I'll need to go see the doc about it as I still can't crochet :o(

But.....the sun is shining and all is well. Tomorrow is going to be a Happy Day, I feel sure of it.

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Juggling These Days

I've had a pretty good day today. Nothing fantastically fabulous, just one of those quiet, thoughtful, pottering kind of days where things have felt unusually calm. In recent days, weeks, months, I confess I've felt like I've not been coping very well. This is quite the Confession! I try not to show it to anyone (and I don't even admit it to myself very often), yet some days I honestly do think that the constant juggling act of life with young children is near impossible to keep up. There is never enough time or energy to keep all the balls in the air.

Today I had a bit of an epiphany. I saw my juggling balls tumble to the ground, and I chose to only pick up the ones that were absolutely essential to the present moment in time. Leave the others. It's ok. It's ok if sometimes life feels messy, if there are jobs and emails and stuff that has to wait. It's ok if it all seems like a complete shambles.

So today, the juggling balls suddenly became simple.

Clean clothes, good home cooked food, and attentive mothering. Forget the rest for now. Let it be.

So I pegged clean laundry out on the line and loved looking at my assortment of thrifted clothes. I loved seeing my rosy summer pyjamas. I loved that Little B had a handful of pegs and pegged them to the bottom of things.

I gazed at my forlorn back yard, oh it's such a mess. It looks so shabby. Mid June, and my pots are still full of dead things and weeds. Sigh. I feel so guilty for not having time to see to it out here, but today, I tried hard to knock the guilt back and let it be.

Yes, it's a mess, and no, there is nothing much growing out here yet. But I am being an Attentive Mother and Little B is having fun out here. He doesn't care if there are flowers or weeds. I fill that big pink trug with warm water and he is happy filling up an old water pistol and squirting my plants.

He finds a snail, and squirts that too.

We have a discussion about snails, about where they live, what they eat, whether they like water.

So many questions, so much wonderful, happy curiosity and fascination with the world.

Whilst Little B is pottering in the back yard, I see to Food. I put butchers sausages in the oven to cook, and I prepare a tray of vegetables to roast with garlic, rosemary and olive oil. Trying to keep one step ahead, trying to ensure that my after-school time is a little less frantic.

Little B has now moved to the front garden. Our street is very quiet during the day, but at 3 years old I don't feel happy about him being out there on his own just yet. So I make coffee and go and sit on the step next to the gorgeously frothy green Alchemilla to watch over him.

My heart sinks again as I take in the sad state of our front patch. Overgrown borders....

....and dismal hanging baskets. I try and think when I might possibly have the time to do some gardening. When? I really don't know. Re-focus. Leave that for now. Attentive Mothering, remember.

I fetch a blanket and cushions and settle down for some chatter with my Little B. He loves to talk. He has some funny obsessions at the moment :: numbers of any sort, CCTV cameras, Fire Exit signs. Well signs in general actually, he is always wanting to know what signs say and what they mean. And the latest thing :: the Human Body. We went to the library on Friday specifically to find a book about the Human Body so that I could try to help answer his constant questions. We look at this book about fifty times a day.

My mind wanders slightly and I start fretting about my garden again. I need to get flowers. How? Where from? How will I carry them home? Bags? Boxes? When can I possibly squeeeeeze plant-buying into my day?

I remember I have some sweet pea seedlings growing in the kitchen, so I go to water them and check on them as they are the only attempt I have made this year to garden. They look ok, but they are a bit small. I wonder briefly whether to declare 2013 the year of No Plants and brazen it out.

Back inside and I am wandering around, waiting for food to finish cooking, keeping a watchful eye on Little B. He is talking to the guinea pigs. I look around me. Everything feels drab and messy and uncared for. I am fretting again. I am trying to pick up those juggling balls again.

So I force myself to let it be. It's ok. Our home is ok.

It's very messy and a tad chaotic, and there are far too many objects in it, but the Little People are happy and that's the most important thing. It's a happy house, relaxed and colourful.

My in-tray is spilling over, full of things that need my attention. But there just isn't enough time in the day to start on that. It'll all have to wait.

I wish some days I could do what Little B does and just settle on the sofa under a blanket, close my eyes and drift off to sleep. Give in to the tiredness. Wouldn't that be something?

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De-Lighted

Finding the time to spend at the studio is proving rather tricksy at the moment. Although Little B loves to spend time there with me, I've found that I can expect approximately 40 minutes of Good Behaviour before it all goes rapidly downhill and we end up in a tizz with each other. Which is understandable really as he is only three years old and is a very active, on-the-go kind of boy. He finds it hard to sit still, and his attention span for things like books and drawing is still pretty short. I can keep him happy for a reasonable length of time if I give him a) tools of any kind, b) a length of yarn or c) food, but these things inevitably end in damage/trouble/mess and it's simply not worth it.

He is currently at playgroup for three mornings a week which gives me a 90 minute slot of child free time on those mornings. Oh that time feels veeery precious! I try to have at least one of those mornings at the studio if I can, but it never seems long enough to get anything constructive done.

A month or so ago, we purchased some flat pack from Ikea. We had been trying to resist the temptation of quick-fix flat pack, preferring to take our time and look for pre-loved furniture with some character/history to it. But when it came to storage, Ikea just couldn't be beat. Tracy and I both have this same combo, which is a Billy bookcase (mine has some extra shelves added in) and a Benno DVD tower.

I managed to secure two whole child free hours to spend in the studio on Saturday morning, and it was bliss. Absolute BliSS. I got sooo much done. Number one job was to start filling those shelves with colour. It's still a work in progress, but I'm thrilled with the results so far. It's a good practical solution to storing the large amount of yarn I've accumulated, but it's also very visually inspiring and fabulous to gaze at.

As you can see, my little creative corner is starting to fill up! I love it so much. I feel like a happy bird sat in a warm woolly nest :o)

Number two job on Saturday was to play with install my de-lightful new lights. Yes, this box of colourful balls is actually going to transform into Studio Lighting, how fabulous is that?

I first saw these lights on a really beautiful blog called Tales From A Happy House, do you know it? Gillian is a great writer and photographer and we share a lot in common. You can see the photo of hers that made me giddy with excitement and weak with lust right here, and then what she did with her beautiful lights here.

The lights are from a wonderful company called Cable and Cotton and are gloriously simple and rather beautiful. In a nutshell, you purchase a string of 20 fairy lights, then select 20 coloured cotton balls to act as little lampshades. There are about 40 colours to choose from, so you can have a fabby time mixing and matching your own colour combos. If it would help any of you who might (like I did) have a sudden attack of The Wanties after reading this, I will list my colours for you....

I have two of each colour, as follows ::

bright orange, raspberry red, fuscia pink, pale pink, pale blue, sky blue, sunflower yellow, pale yellow, lime green, anais green.

I had a dickens of a job deciding on positioning. Vertical or horizontal? Up and down, or draped across? As you can see, I finally settled on the vertical, after much indecision, coffee, and jigging about. The above photo shows them unlit.....

.....and this is them all lit up. They glow so beautifully! De-lightful indeed!

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!! Love love love love them!!!

You can see things are slowly coming together in the studio. I now have some above-desk shelving and my notice board and pictures have been hung. A new little cotton rug too, although I might later replace it with a larger version. The paper circle bunting was a sweet gift from Caroline Rose Art, you can find it in her shop here.

It's all looking very jolly and Attic24-ish I have to say.

Tracy wrote a lovely blog post about our Open Studio event with some pictures of the café etc., do go take a little look if you like. We are really looking forward to opening our door in a couple of weeks and welcoming you in, it's kind of thrilling and nerve wracking in equal measure.

I'm hoping to get these cute little cotton circles worked up into some sort of window bunting this week, although my finger is still acting a bit weird. Wish me luck.

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Tales from Connievan :: a New Chapter

The above picture was taken three years ago when we were a newby caravaning family with two young children and a small baby. This was only our second trip away in Connievan, a two night stay at a beautiful caravan park in the Yorkshire Dales only half an hour from home. I remember it being a glorious weekend where we lounged about doing very little in the heat of early summer. Long golden days, lush green hills, a cool shallow river. Ice cold beer, colourful relaxing crochet, happy outdoor children. Good memories.

Three years on and it has suddenly become surprisingly hard to make caravan holidays actually happen. I think we all still love the idea of spending time in the caravan, but the planning/organising part of it is just a bit too much hard work. The unpredictable weather doesn't help either (oh that wet week in Blackpool last year was a bit dire!), but mainly I think it has simply become easier to Stay Home.

I wrote about our Stay Home holiday recently, the week where I really wanted us to be away in the caravan but had failed to actually book anything in time. The week where every other member of my family said they preferred to be at home actually. Oh I stropped. I ranted. I sulked. Then I re-grouped and gave the whole dilemma some serious thought until the answer slowly presented itself to me. What we needed was a permanent home for Connievan, somewhere beautiful and rural, but close enough for us to drive to at the drop of a hat if the whim suddenly took us. If the weather suddenly looks tippety-top then we can sling a change of clothes in a bag, grab some grub and head off. Just like that. We need for it to be easy. We need the chance to be spontaneous. No planning. No booking. Just up and go.

I knew this particular site would fit the bill perfectly as I had (secretly) made inquiries about it last year. But it was the money you see. This sort of thing does not come cheap, one has to pay quite dearly for the privilege of renting out a permanent little patch all year round. And yet.....after much discussion, we decided we could dig into our savings and it would be worth it. What the heck. Let's do it, lets splash out a bit and really make this work for our family. Yayyyy!!!!!!

So on the very last day of our StayHome week, we moved Connie out of her concrete storage place and into her new green country home. It was wonderful, oh I was SO excited! We've got a lovely little spot in a quiet corner, with a dry stone wall and an old bench. The pitches either side are empty for now, so we have quite a bit of open space in front of us.....

.....and we have the rustle of the wind in the trees behind us.

Those of you who have been visitors to the Attic for a while will know all about my complete devotion to Connievan. You will know about my prettifying exploits (see here and here for pictures). You will know about the early beginnings and about our adventures in her.

I am still as excited about all things Caravan and just adore spending time within these four small walls with my family. It's pretty damn marvelous!

Last weekend, we had out first proper sleep over with Connie in her new home. I packed up a few clothes and a cool bag of food and on Friday evening at 6pm we set off. By 6.30pm we were there, and I was strolling around picking flowers to put in my jam jar vase.

The weather was absolutely breathtakingly perfect. Sunny and warm, with the daylight lasting forever. We cooked hot dogs for dinner, with a plate of strawberries and melon for afters. J and I sat outside to chat and drink beer and the Little People went off to play. There is a lovely children's area on site with swings, slide etc, plus a green field where they played ball, tennis and frisbee. As a treat we also bought Swingball which has been a great success, and we took scooters with us too. So there was plenty to keep them happy and occupied.

Sleeping in Connievan is snug and cosy. We find it easier to all go to bed at the same time (including an over excited/over tired Little B) at around 10pm. J and I make up our double bed at the front of the van and we have the luxury of sheet, duvet and feather pillows. The Little People sleep at the back of the van in (newly purchased, stripy blue) sleeping bags. The seating at the back makes up into a double bed where Little Man and Little B sleep head to toe, then there is a narrow bunk which pulls out above them for Little Lady to bed down on. It can sometimes be a bit tense getting everyone to settle down and off to sleep, but mostly it goes ok. And thankfully we all seem to sleep well, waking around 6am.

I love early mornings in the caravan. I love the smell most of all. I love to open up the window and breath it all in, that nostalgic smell of still damp grass and fresh morning air. At the caravan site there is a tonne of wildlife. There are lots of rabbits hoppity-hopping around the caravans and oodles of birds sing and tweet all day long, including my favourite curlew. Oh how I adore the sound of the curlew, it is one of my all time favourite bird sounds (seagulls possibly come top, but hmm not sure about that to be honest. Maybe curlew is top)

I had to show you this photo, I really LOVED that Little Lady went to such effort to pack this all up into a big bag to bring for the weekend. All the drawers and cupboards were stocked with food and equipment (I was given the full tour) and the playmobil family had a lovely time camping alongside us.

The highlight of the weekend was undoubtedly the outing we had on Saturday, walking from the caravan site to the nearest village to have a pub lunch.

The countryside was looking absolutely glorious, I just love this time of year so much. Green and gold, sun light and shadow. Everything is so light and bright and lush.

Oh and there was such an abundance of buttercups! I could hardly believe this field, it took my breath away.

The walk to the village was 1.5 miles of flat riverside and meadow.

I loved this part of the river with it's deep, steep river banks....

....and clear reflective water.

But it was the meadows that I loved the most.....

....they were just soooooo beautiful.

It's a good few years since we'd been to this little village and I couldn't remember it very well. I recalled a village green, and a small pub, but not a lot else.

Turns out that's because there isn't a lot else there. Picturesque cottages around an uncut village green given over to meadow at this time of year....

....and yup, there's the pub. It's called The Falcon Inn and is an absolute original gem.

When you step inside, it's like walking into someones house. Small cosy rooms, ancient floors and walls, with a very simple and rustic style. Lots of stuffed animals (including a pair of pheasant and a whole fox) which I didn't much care for but the Little People thought were fantastic (especially the whole fox)

It was a delight. There was a simple menu and great, honest, homecooked food. The country kitchen was pretty open to view, with the landlady cooking everything herself on the Aga while her hubby served the beer from a tiny bar area in the hallway. The beer was poured the traditional way straight out of the barrel into a china jug before being poured into the glass. It was a very memorable lunch (who knew pea and mint soup was soooo good?!) and we left feeling satisfied, rested and happy.

This wasn't a circular walk, so the return home was back the same way we had come.

Back through the delightful riverside meadows....

....sneezing all the way! Yeah, there was a serious amount of pollen in the air here, but honestly the beauty of it more than made up for the discomfort.

We returned to the caravan site in the mid afternoon, with the promise of ice creams from the on site shop. Happy happy.

We have our old portable barbecue at the caravan and the dry stone wall which runs behind Connievan makes a perfect outdoor cooking area. That evening we cooked up burgers (delicious ones from the supermarket flavoured with smoked garlic, they were really good) and I made a big bowl of salad to go with them. Fruit and chocolate for afters.

And a little more beer.

The weekend felt warm and golden in more ways than one, and definitely one for the Family Memory Bank. I'm hoping that this is the start of a long line of weekends spent at our Country Residence. Connievan, we love you ♥

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ps thank you so much for all your good wishes for my head and hand this week! Still feeling a bit rubbish, but very much better than I was earlier in the week. I continue to rest my finger and it is slowly feeling better as a result. I'm holding off with the crochet until next week and keeping up with the ibuprofen which is helping loads. It can only get better, right? x

 pps I have a tagged all my caravan posts, so they are all in the "caravan" category...if you fancy pootling back through Connievan's archives, you can find them here xxx

 

 

 

 

Feeling

Feeling a little down and very frustrated as I am unable to crochet at the moment. I know. It hurts. I'm not sure what I've done exactly but somehow I've managed to hurt/strain my finger. It's my pointy finger on my left hand (which I use to hold the crochet), so nothing to do with my hooking action at all, but it still hurts like hell when I try to work.



Feeling worried. I have a spectacular work load right now, and I am hoping that by giving my hand complete rest as far as is possible, that my finger will heal quickly. You have no idea how much I miss my crochet. I started making this potholder flower on Sunday night (excellent free pattern on Ravelry here) but had to abandon it in tears when I couldn't do any more.

Feeling full of snot. Urgh. I have the mother of all head colds residing up there and it doesn't feel good at all. I've spent the past two days trying to cope with daily life, resting on the sofa when I was able and wishing with all my heart that I could simply crawl into bed and stay there.

Yesterday I made it through till 6pm then went straight upstairs and crawled under the covers with a hot water bottle, leaving the rest of the family to cope without me. They managed, but it was not without upset. Little B tends to conduct his upsets at full throttle, it was not great to listen to.

Feeling the strain of parenting. Ahh Little B. At 3.5 years old he is putting me through my paces in no uncertain terms. Today he managed to flood the bathroom, causing water to rain down through the kitchen ceiling. It hasn't been a good day.

Feeling grateful for the long, light filled days we are having and the Greening Of The Hill. Always a high point in my year of Attic Views. I love this time of year very, very much.

Feeling happy when I think about the weekend we just had in Connievan. It was sweet and full of happy for the most part. Some cantankerous naughtiness from our 3.5year old, some dramatic outbursts from our 9 year old and some whinging boredom from our 10.5 year old. But all in all, it was pretty great.

Feeling optimistic about many more weekends with ConnieVan, I'll tell you the full story about her new home when I'm feeling a little more perky.

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News Bulletin

#1 :: Bunting Triangles ::

Lots of  sightings of bunting triangles in Blogland and Flickrville recently, which is marvellous. You can see some of the triangles in the Yarndale 2013 Flickr group, which rather excitingly has more than 80 members already. Many heartfelt thanks to all of you who are making these for me and spreading the word about it too.

I have applied for a PO Box address which should take about a week to be processed. I will of course  let you know as soon as I have the address for you to send them to.

#2 :: The Studio ::

Tracy and I have set a date for our first Open Studio Event ::

Saturday 29th June : 10am - 4pm.

For those of you who live within traveling distance of the Attic, you are welcome to come and visit us. The idea is to keep it very informal, we just want to welcome people to our studio and give you chance to have a peek at what we are up to.

Tracy has been working very hard and there will be a fabulous selection of her handmade goodies for sale.
I plan on having lots of my crochet there, but won’t be selling anything, just chatting and doing a little bit of hooky.
Bring a project along, grab a fabulous coffee and some delicious homemade cake and have fun in our colourful, creative space!

#3 :: Connievan ::

I am packing up a few bits and pieces this afternoon with a cool bag of food and we are off to spend a couple of days in our beloved caravan. The sky is blue, the sun is shining and we are all really looking forward to a weekend of outdoor relaxation. As you can see, Connievan is looking good in her new home and I can't wait to tell you all about it on Monday.

With much love to you all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx