This and that....

Hello

Well, August Bank Holiday was a bit of a let-down weather-wise wasn't it? I was eagerly looking forward to the odd hour or two sat in a chair in the garden soaking up the sun's rays but instead I spent quite a lot of time either standing under trees to shelter from the rain or quietly getting damp as I stood in drizzle!

Anyway, not one to let the weather deter me from getting the family out, we managed a variety of little trips. So here we go!

Our first outing was on Friday when my daughter and I cycled to our local-ish organic farm for lunch.

 It poured with rain on our way there so we stood sheltering from the rain for about 20 mins listening to music on her iphone. 

But boy! The wait was worth it - scrambled eggs on toast followed by scones, cream and jam!! 

Well, we had earnt it! We had cycled there AND we had the return journey in front of us too,

 so sustenance was needed!

The animals at the farm are adorable. 

Daughter would have happily taken the donkey home with us - he looks like he is smiling!

Saturday arrived, and with it, an afternoon with nothing special planned so we decided to make a visit to Newark-on-Trent, a place I have never visited but have passed through on the train and thought it looked interesting. 

The castle looks quite spectacular overlooking the river, although most of what is left is this façade. We saw two couples having their wedding photos taken here - the castle makes a stunning backdrop. 

Rather annoyingly I'd forgotten to take my camera with me so I took just a few photos on my phone. 

Locks are always so fascinating but sadly there were no boats passing through today. 

In the distance are old mills, evidence that Newark was once a major trading town. 

Prince Rupert stayed in the house above during the English Civil War.

It looks a bit incongruous to see Greggs in such a historical building....

So Sunday arrives, and daughter and I were out fairly early in the morning and we found ourselves without any money but a wish for a cup of tea, so a quick emergency phone call to home and shortly afterwards, two other members of the family met us at the local steam railway. 

A cup of tea was followed by a couple of games of Jenga. 

And just as those games finished, two steam trains arrived.

 

Again I'm using my phone to take photos so the quality isn't great, 

but you can just see the steam train leaving in the middle of the photo below. 

I love the solidness of the station buildings. 

And I think for most of us in the UK, the weather on Monday wasn't the type to attract us out of doors - a shame really when traditionally there are so many outdoor events organised for August Bank Holiday.

However, elder son made good use of his time at home by baking a cake.......

He calls it a giant Oreo. 

And I know he won't mind me saying this 

(considering that it came out of a packet, one he'd been given some time ago) 

it tasted surprisingly good!

I hope you a good weekend!

xXx

A seaside cottage....

Hello,

One of my dreams is to own a little cottage either by the sea or in an isolated location perhaps in the Peak District or on the west coast of Scotland, ideally with stunning views. 

This is just one of my many daydreams! 

So I got very excited recently when I am across a kit on the internet for knitting my own seaside cottage. This kit is sold by 'The Little Knit Kit Company' and what is great news, is that the kit is currently available to purchase in the sale. So it didn't take me to long to decided to order the kit and it arrived about two weeks, and what a delightful package! 

The kit is presented in a brown bag which in turn arrived wrapped in pink tissue paper with cute stickers on the outer packing. 

And inside the brown bag there is wool, needles, pattern, stuffing, felt, sewing thread, buttons and beads - in fact everything you need to complete the cottage!

 Here are some close up photos of how the cottage will look when complete. 

Look at the cute beads, as flowers, around the door - I think this will be trickiest bit of the kit. 

 So it wasn't long after the package arrived before I had the needles out and I started on my cottage.  

 This is the first wall under construction. The kit is easy to complete with knitting in garter stitch  and only simple shaping and sewing up to undertake. 

 Here we are a couple of weeks later with all four walls and the roof knitted, and the 

base is underway. 

 

This is a lovely kit - an enjoyable, easy knitting project.  

And with the Bank Holiday weekend here, it may not be too long before my own little dream cottage is complete!

Have a good weekend

xXx

On Thursday I bought.....

Last week Sue, from sweetpea family, made me smile because she wrote this post explaining how she nipped into John Lewis and ended up buying 40 balls of wool, too many to hide behind the sofa or under the bed!

I'm sure quite a few of us know exactly how Sue is feeling. So I thought I would write a little confession.

On Thursday I bought.......

Yes, this was my little haul from Hobbycraft. 

My nearest store is in the city about 20 miles from where I live but it is also in the city where I work. This could be bad news except for the fact that it is the other side of the city, so temptation is kept at bay - phew! 

But last Thursday I had to visit a different part of our campus on the way home. Now, to be completely honest, the campus I had to visit is only a short distance from where I work and I hardly have to make a detour from my usual route home to go there but because this visit had changed my whole routine ever so slightly AND because it is the school holidays and so I don't have a tight time schedule to stick to, I decided to drive over to the other side of the city and come home via Hobbycraft. Makes complete sense doesn't it?

And what a great little selection I bought - supplies for cross stitch, crochet, sewing and stationery! There, I've made my confession and boy, does it feel good!

(the only downside was that when I got home and showed my goodies to my daughter she said she would like to go - so I guess we'll just have to make a special trip sometime....oh dear, such a shame!!!

Have a good week

xXx