School's Out!!

Okay, I know I said normal service was resumed, but I was away again last week so the post sort of fell by the wayside....

Still, now it's the end of term I can catch up (a bit)...

It's been nice to have some 'kick-back' time and just watch the grass grow - well I would do, but up until a day or two ago it wasn't. Everything around here had gone a sort of straw yellow with the sun, but recent showers have definitely perked things up. Here's the (rather grainy) view from our garden/sun room before the rain.

 

 

A lovely view (when you block out our neighbours' bungalows by squeezing your eyes - and ignore the telegraph pole) to drift away while having a coffee and pretending to read!

 

The sun has also worked its magic on the pots and plants around the garden. When I was young dad would fill the house in the autumn with all the geraniums he was saving. They all lived on the landing on top of the tallboy and reeked of that rather distinctive geranium smell which I hated. Funny isn't it, that now I can't imagine our garden here without them!

 

 

 

Just yesterday Graeham called for me to come quickly as he'd spotted a little visitor in the garden... We regularly have cats and foxes, we've also had a frog on the front door (actually sitting on a projecting piece so that when you open and shut the door he looked up rather enjoying the ride!) and a pheasant strutting along the road outside the bungalow, but never a bunny! This one was very small and looked rather lost - hopefully it made it to a place of safety.....

 

So what else have I been up to other than relaxing and gazing out of the window? Well, I was up in Kent working at my old school for the end of term. It coincided with Mum's birthday so I stayed at my sister's place and we went our and enjoyed a meal at the local tapas bar. And Juds also gave me the mirror that I made last time I was there. We both played for a while sticking our shells on - mine's the one on the left. I just need to varnish it, then.. not sure what to do with it, or where to hang it!

 

 

Other than that I've tried to get myself into finishing a couple of blankets that I started - as you can see this one hasn't got that far! Mind you, it's a lot further than the baby blanket I have started, frogged, restarted, frogged... and so on about four times... Now I've stopped knitting it and started crocheting instead.

 

 

 

Oh yes, I got to spinning too.... I'm having to tear myself away from the lovely Shetland fleece that I'm spinning and try to discipline myself into concentrating on the alpaca that still sits there looking accusingly at me - perhaps next week when I go to the spinning group I'll get the drum carder out and attack it full on to speed things up!

 

And I've read, and played tennis and eaten cake.. all that and the holiday's only just started!

 

Right, action - I have got teachers' notes to write on Carrie's War, still I reeeaaallly need to just pop over to Handmade Monday to see what everyone else has been up to. Task avoidance I hear you say, hmmm now if that was an Olympic sport I could truly be a champion!

 

 

Normal Service (!) resumed...

Hello again! I know I've been remiss with the postings, but I can't believe how quickly the time goes and how little I seem to have to write to show you how I've filled it!!!

Anyway, excuses aside, everything keeps moving along - so here are some highlights..

In between the writing and trips away for work we have managed one or two nice trips out for ourselves too. There have been barbecues with friends - the most recent last night on the beach at Budleigh, walks along the beach and relaxing in lovely spots. Here's a couple of shots from when we had some time in Cockington. This first one is the view from our table in the cafe where we had our cream tea while the pianist played in the garden....

 

 

I have managed some bits and pieces of finishing off, the odd doll's blanket and scarf.. like this lacy one. I've also got a beautiful new fleece from one of our Wednesday spinners, Dawn. She sheared her flock on the Saturday and brought a selection of Shetland fleeces the following Wednesday. They were lovely. I've washed mine and started on it abandoning the alpaca that's driving me nuts! (Mind you I am about half way through the throw I'm making from it - I swear that the rest of it that is living in the loft is breeding, there always seems to be more of it each time I open the box it's in...).

 

 

 

Work continues apace, with next academic year's dates already rolling in - so it would seem I'm still employed for the future. On my last visit to Cardiff I went out for a walk in the evening with some of the staff from one of the schools. It was such a change from either having a drift around Cardiff on my own or retreating to the hotel room. We did a couple of circuits of the lake at Roath. To my shame, even though I was at university there for three years, I'd never been to the park. Here it is - can't really guess you're in the middle of a capital city, can you?

 

 

 

I've also been able to get up to see my mum and sister - their birthdays are this week so I'll be back there again on Sunday - and then on to my old school for the end of term. So we'll have time for an evening at their local tapas bar with plenty of Sangria. My excuse is that I'm practising for my holiday. We finally managed to book one for October - so it's off to Fuerteventura then!

 

Finally, thanks to some of the lovely comments you sent I plucked up the courage to pop into a local shop, Inc. I chatted to Emma who runs it and showed her some of my brooches and she bought a couple to try in the shop. This week I had a call asking for some more and I showed her an ice cream one that I'd made - and she wanted more of those too! Here's some of the batch ready to go down there today! I've never done anything like this before so I'm well and truly chuffed at the response, especially as the first two she had sold so quickly.

 



 

 

 

I think that's just about everything up to date now.... although I'm sure I've forgotten plenty too.. it's been that sort of time. So I'm about to settle down to some data work for the morning, before I have my usual coffee break browse and Handmade Monday then  pop down to Inc with my brooches. After that I guess it's a relax in the sunshine - long may it last!!!!