The Best News......

A few weeks ago I received some super, duper, fabulicious news.....but I also received some potentially terrible news......I was told my Dad thought he had the big C..... cancer......well I have just found out that it was a bit of a storm in a teacup.... thankfully there is NO cancer......and my wonderful Dad will, with the grace of good fortune, be with us for many more years to come......P H E W ! ! !......that's a H U U U U G E relief!

And then we've had good news of my friend M's husband, who has been in hospital for over three weeks...after a battery of tests, it looks like everything is OK......and he is home again.....PHEW!!!....another HUGE relief!!!


Things really are looking up.....life really is good!!!

-xx-

Birthday Bunting & Cute Cosies.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!......It's my very good friend M's birthday today.....but sadly she's not the happiest of people at the mo.......her husband is in hospital and she has worries on her mind.....so any little minute I've not been keeping her company, I've been secretly whipping up these little treats for her new kitchen.......birthday bunting for the pantry....

and cute cosies for her new egg cups......

They're only little things, but I hope they brightened her day a little......and maybe bring her a little joy and a smile when she sees them each day.

I hope with all my heart, M gets some good news from the hospital tonight.....it would be the best birthday present ever for her.

Happy Birthday M!

-xx-

Special Day......

Today is a special day.....I decided I had earned some ♥Treat ME♥ time, and had planned a day of mooching round some pretty little shops, with some serious coffee indulging and relaxing in a nice cafe, thrown in for good measure.....


But things don't often go exactly as planned......the day started off brill, with some super duper, fabulicious news......can't say any more now, but all will be revealed eventually......but then took a sudden turn for the worse, with some potentially terrible news.....but I'm trying not to dwell on that.

As my very good friend M was unexpectedly at home.....due to very unforeseen weekend happenings.....we decided to go out together to keep our minds occupied and away from our troubling situations.....M treated us to a delicious lunch......and I treated myself to this simply gorgeous cup and saucer/plate combo made by Maling, which I found in a charity shop.....perfect for my "time out" cup of tea and cookie or cake......

Then these goodies found their way to me.....

The book looks wonderful, with lots of little projects to make.....I can't wait to try some....usefully divided into seasonal sections.....

And this PINK ♥ bowl is perfect......just what I needed as my largest Nigella Lawson "egg" bowl was accidentally broken recently .......

I also bought some sweet pink flowers for my bedroom....

And to finish off the day, we had some delightfully delicious cupcakes made by Big and Little Misses on Sunday......

It turned out to be quite a PINK day actually.....not at all how I had planned the day.....but still lovely just the same

-xx-

Ahhhh, Indian Summer.....

How wonderful.....the weather has turned back all summery, balmy, gentle.....like a last minute gift from the gods......sitting outside having lunch today in the glorious sunshine with the soft, warm wind gently wafting was just bliss....it felt like being draped lightly in a cosy blanket....just what the doctor ordered after the quite chilly last couple of weeks.....and may it last until the end of October....well, it's good for the soul to be hopeful!....to stay positive, think positive, act positive....so positive things come to us.

This year our vegetable garden hasn't been particularly productive unfortunately.....but what we didn't have in quantity, we certainly had in quality.....the most gorgeous tomatoes, not abundant, but thankfully not blighted like the last couple of years....the taste was out of this world......little green peas packed into little green pods..... just a few....and only eaten raw....far to good and sweet to cook.....and teeeny tiny sweetcorn......not quite perfectly formed, and again not abundant, as in previous years .....but the taste of just picked and quickly cooked sweetcorn is to die for.......

I know they don't look quite so small in this photo, but they are sitting on a small side plate......and they were very scrumptious for lunch......golden yellow kernels, smothered in soft, golden butter, eaten outside under the golden yellow sun.....what could be more sunshiny than that? Just don't tell my Angels I ate the very last three cobs without them......they were just so tiny, and not enough for everyone.....much easier to gobble them myself and save the arguments.....sorry Angels!

Our fruit has been a little better.....a rampant haul of hugely, thick rhubarb.....is rhubarb a vegetable of fruit?....a good crop of pleasing plums.....a few edible pears for the very first time......the tastiest strawberries I have ever eaten.....although sadly, not nearly enough of them......and more than enough sweet, juicy apples.....

And although not edible, we've had a reasonable crop of gourds.....especially considering we didn't actually plant any this year....they self-seeded themselves from our homemade compost.....from a couple of years ago!

All stand to attention!.....

The orange colours just seem to zing and glow under the autumn sunshine......I think they'll make pretty little jack-o-latterns for halloween.....

Long may our Indian summer last!!!!!

-xx-

Happy Birthday & Happy Hooking.....

It's our friend Big Miss A's birthday today......HAPPY BIRTHDAY!......so I got my hook out on Tuesday and rustled this up for her.......

I haven't picked up my hook since the school holidays started......it was really enjoyable to feel it in my hands again, the yarn being drawn through my fingers, the calm rhythm of hooking......so peaceful and soothing.


I'm relatively new to crochet.....well, I say new.....my Nana actually taught me when I was a little girl....she taught me many things, my wonderful Nana.....I used to sit for hours at her feet, sewing buttons onto facecloths, sorting the buttons into sizes, colours, etc.....my Pop made me a finger knitting doll from an old wooden cotton reel and some nails.....then my Nana taught me to finger or french knit. Anyway, I digress .....my Nana taught me to crochet when I was little, but then knitting took over, and I completely forgot how to do it.....then in my late twenties I asked my Nana to crochet me a blanket....something to occupy her really.....I bought the yarn and had high hopes for a cuddly, cosy blanket.....by now though, I think she was really past producing something on this scale......so I asked her to teach me to crochet instead, so I could complete the blanket myself, and not waste the yarn. I picked it up quite quickly, my old memories brought back to the fore.....and I completed that lovely blanket..... unfortunately, as time has gone by, my tastes have changed, and the colours are less than appealing to me now.....but I still have the blanket, stored away.....think it's about time to bring it out into the light of day again though.


Anyway, after finishing it, life kinda took over.....I had one Angel, then another.... and before I knew it, I had four darling Angels.....a crochet hook was never held again. Until quite recently that is......I had rather a stash of balls of yarn, all odds and sods that had been used for a variety of knitting projects over the years, and I decided it was time to get rid of them....use them up.....I had this idea that if I taught myself to crochet again, I could just make some little things like crocheted flowers to use as brooches or the like, which would use up my stash....AND....give me some pretty new brooches to boot. So I took a cruise around Amazon and bought this lovely book Cute and Easy Crochet which has easy to follow tutorial pictures for beginners, and some lovely patterns, including some easy flowers. Within minutes of starting, I was up and running.....well hooking actually....it feels like I was meant to hook....the skills my Nana taught me way back when must be somehow embedded in my brain ....I was surprised how much I enjoyed twisting and twirling that little hook.....and produced several little flowers before you could say "by hook or by crook".....my poor fingers ached!

Then I saw a picture of some charming crocheted heart bunting in a magazine which really got me excited....I set to, searching the internet for patterns to make it....I did find the pattern I wanted here, which I haven't tried yet..... but I also came across a most delightful teeny tiny heart pattern and tutorial at Attic24....this incidentally opened my eyes to the world of blogging, of which I now hugely enjoy....both reading my favs .....and writing my own. But again, I digress....I was off.....teeny tiny hearts strung onto a ribbon of single crochet were popping up all over our house.....in the kitchen...

in the larder......using a slightly different heart pattern I found here.......

on the Miss' bedroom door.......

And of course, I couldn't leave my Lads out, so I thought little flags on a string of single crochet would be more appropriate for their bedroom door......

And strung in the bathroom too.......

Then the third issue of MollieMakes dropped through my letterflap with gorgeous teeny tiny flowers and butterflies.....so they were made with some teeny tiny hearts....and strung onto a ribbon of single crochet.....a gift for my friend S, for her new campervan.......

Which brings me back to Tuesday....enjoying the feel of a hook again, the soothing rhythm of hooking. I'd love to make a gorgeous snuggly ripply blanket like Lucy's here....but it would use just soooo much yarn....and I have rather a penchant for deliciously soft, cosy, natural yarn.....the thought of all the necessary pennies makes my eyes water......that ripply blankie will just have to wait for now....I'll have to stick with the pretty flowers like Big Miss A's, and teeny tiny bunting.

-xx-

Thrifty Pressies.....

My friend M regularly takes a cruise around the local charity shops......sometimes she comes home with absolutely nothing......but sometimes she hits the jackpot and finds some dishy goodies......sometimes she keeps them for herself......and sometimes she shares her haul. On Friday she spotted some lovely pink plates, but left them there to mull over.....yesterday she went back to look again......if they were still there, she was going to nab them....if they weren't, it wasn't meant to be. Yippee.....they were still there! She kept a couple for herself.....and gave the rest to me......YIPPEE..... they are sooooo pretty in pink........

And what a charming little pressie......they're not really old, or antique.....probably vintage would be the correct description for them.....but I absolutely ♥ them.....and at only £3.50 for the whole lot.....8 plates in total....I've absolutely no qualms about using them everyday. We used the soup/dessert ones last night for dessert, but Little Miss was quite disgruntled that her dessert wasn't served in one......so tonight, I did serve her dessert in a pretty pink plate....."goodie, I've got a new plate" she squealed quite delighted......well they are very girlie.

On a previous cruise round the charity shops a few weeks ago, my friend M spotted this gorgeous cheese dome......

She didn't need one for herself, so came round to collect me, so I could go see it. Luckily it was still there, and of course I thought it was just wonderful.....and at only £4.50......I simply had to have it......

All sparkly, with the light refracting off the pretty ribs and ripples.....I thought it was a real bargain which was just waiting for me to snap it up.........

I soooo ♥ finding treasures like these to use and enjoy......and maybe they will become family heirlooms in years to come.....since all my Angels ♥ and appreciate these lovely treasures too.

-xx-

Ahhhhh.....silence......

Ahhhhh, hear that.....nothing.....silence......not a whisper......wonderful! The Angels are all off at school, and I'm in the kitchen making my breakfast......silence really can be golden! After all the hustle and bustle of getting everyone and everything ready and out the door for school, it's so peaceful to sit down for a few moments to enjoy a cup of tea and hot, buttery, jammy toast, in my own company, before I set about starting my chores for the day of making my home a clean, tidy, calm, haven of peace.......

I wish.....in my dreams it's going to be a clean, tidy, calm, haven of peace.....but, it's actually gonna take a whole lot more than just a few chores to make it so. But then, life is for living and enjoying, and sometimes we need to just embrace that, and leave the chores for another day.....live for today, nothing is worth more than this day.....the jobs will still be waiting for us tomorrow!

-xx-