Now we are there

so I won't say much, but every minute with my Pai and Mae I treasure

So we did not get very far

We made it to Brighton, our knight in shining armour saved us. But it was good, we spent time with all the grandparents eventually, ate good food, breakfast at Shoreham Airport, lunch at Bills and then back to sleep at Grandads'.

starting the journey

This is us, on our way - I am not sure if I want to spoil the simplicity of these photos with lots of grrrinng, complaining etc but needless to say we made it to the airport, through the snow, on a bus then a train then a replacement bus for part of the train track was down then on another train then checked in, through passport control etc etc only to be told 45 minutes before departure time that our flight was cancelled so too queue for over 3 hours to be put on another flight 48 hours later - everything was fine until the airport bit and I do not want to spoil the pics with a monotone rant about Easyjet, promises of somewhere to stay, compensation, food that equalled nothing in the end.

Thankfully our knight in shining armour (aka my father-in-law) collected four waifs with luggage and gave us beds for two nights.

snow

It came as they said, now we will start our mammoth journey of many forms of transport, dragging behind bags full of things for my parents and things for us.

something white for the weekend

I am flying away this weekend to somewhere warm and sunny to escape for a little bit and see my family but the weatherman says it will be snowing (here)

More of the white stuff, which I can not comprehend at this very moment with a beautiful clear evening, walking along the river with May but tomorrow I will wake up to a colder day and by Sunday it will be so much colder it will be snowing.



Fair enough we have had rain and more rain (as from the early morning dewy pictures) but snow?

Read something wonderful

If you are reading this, you shouldn't be, you should be here, reading RE:Form's words.

They make me smile so much, go on, take a look, you will like it.

The most amazing pieces out of old rust, broken things

She makes me laugh (that is laugh said with a Northern accent please) and she is gorgeousness herself

Another birthday

A month of birthdays



A trip to the sea



Trying to make a round cake into a record but no black food colouring so it became a guitar!



An appropriate present from my parents



It is the week of birthdays

Happy Birthday Papa!

Today is the little gnome's birthday. Even though we are not there, we are all sending huge amounts of love.

Happy birthday, with extra love from May!

What I would really like today

Is a quiet day, a catch up


I have been chasing my tail, walking the dog, delivering training, stretching my mind, working, struggling too finish gifts in time for birthdays, entertaining children.

But today I would like a quiet day.

Re-edited at 8.44am after feeding the family, putting the laundry on, loading the dishwashing machine, hoovering, taking the children too school and walking the dog - things are yet to go to plan but I did find this from REforms blog

What I need:
More hours in the day
or days in the week.
More room to breath
or a cleaner.
More money in my pocket
or someone to sew up the holes.
More of an organised house
or somewhere safe to put my camera.
More chocolate
or a personal trainer.

More weekends away
or a really long sodding holiday.


mmmm, she is so right there!

A typical Bank Holiay?

It is the Easter break right now, well actually it is just an extended weekend as for the first time in my lifetime the schoool holiday is not at the same time as Easter so it is back to school tomorrow after a short break.













This long weekend included a flurry of snow, yes a real live flurry over a few days, nothing settling but it was mighty cold walking May along the river.



So today, Bank Holiday Monday we made our trip too Oxford. Louie had wanted to visit Lyra's Oxford again - last time he and I went to see Callum Innes at Modern Art oxford and he bought this book, so today was the designated day to set off on our Oxford journey.













It was very dark, rainy and cold but armed with a little map we wandered round colleges, bookshops and strange little pen shops, saw random reindeers in the window, walked in the footsteps of J.R.R Tolkein and C.S.Lewis and found the house of the artist William Turner.




































Now we are home, warming up, rainboots off and back to school tomorrow

A Good Friday

Today we did this


then this


and more of this


we almost avoided all the rain there was by fluke

ate cake at the wonderful Picnic


then watched a movie

came home and did the third dog walk of the day

A Good Friday

If you are not at knit night this is what you are missing

Birthday cakes for ella and emma, happy birthday! X

sent from knit night so hurry up and get here

Team Zissou

The newest team member, watching crufts 2008.

Blogged from my phone and haven't worked out how to turn the photo round yet....

a trip round the garden for the little gnome

The little gnome has been sending updates of the garden, an orange tree with juicy plump oranges, budding and growing plants, with more than an essence of sunshine on the back garden, so this post little gnome is for you.

May had to get in the shot too



clashy colours



a single tete a tete






the acer starting to bud



the clementine armandi ready to pop it's flowers



The little gnome's Camellia starting to flower

mothers and daughters

So we spent the weekend trying to finish things off. Whirly had a project for the new baby next door - a little hat on circular needles, I was trying to finish the edging rows of the present for my mum. This has to be done by Thursday to be posted to her for her birthday, a 16 row pattern x 70 times. I did not get much done yesterday, visited the mother in law for Mothering Sunday which involved us catering (that should read *me* as hubby did none), driving two hours each way but at least we walked May on the beach... well Louie and I did as bama has a break in her foot, hubby was tired and Mother in Law set of with us but then her feet hurt too so she was collected.

mothers and daughters, mother in laws, mothers in other countries

Happy Mothers Day Mae x x x

he is iant

This is iant, he lives here in the photo world and blogs here. He is the fairy dogfather, May loves him and so we made him this hat as he is a celebrity and you should be overt in your celebrity-ism

Thanks iant ; )

Today I am going too think about 10 British things that I like, not in any sense of anglophilism (can I have that anyway?) but just because I lately feel like I have been knitting up union jacks like there is no tomorrow ~ I would also like too point out that I am happy that it is relatively straightforward as, say the US flag may be might tricky or the German flag pretty straightforward so I guess the UJ is pretty middle of the road.

Talking of stars and stripes, I love this Wonder Woman jumper. What else would you ever need?

10 things I like that are definitely very British:

1. Cups of tea - why? how does that happen, is it a genetic thing

2. Marmite - ditto above, strange eh

3. The changing weather, always gives us something to talk about

4. That no-one really knows if they should say they are British, Uk or European - always in a quandry

5. That it is acceptable to be eccentric (probably includes not knowing what you are from statement above)

6. Fish and Chips (obviously without the fish for me please)

7. That a tea-cosy can double up as an acceptable woolly hat and no-one will question it

8. Tank tops form a basis of every day life and it is possible to get away with it

9. That a complete knowledge of Dr Who is acceptable

10. Eating of really good homemade cake...mmmm

May, one very loved dog

She has only been here a short time and has tried and tested us with different quirks such as running up the stairs but crying a she is too frightened too come down, having an odd nibble on visitors when she is frightened, crying at zebra crossings and generally taking the whole sofa too herself when we are at home.

But we are all working really hard too make her feel loved, wanted and special and there are changes already - she is a rescue dog who we did not know much about apart from that she was skinny, her muscles were wasted but she also wanted to be with us. She is part of us and life without her after only 5 months seems difficult too imagine. We love her, a very loved dog

plagarised from the cards

, originally uploaded by Cardinal Wolsey.

Here is something I made a little earlier, it is a gift for the lovely iant who is May's fairy dogfather...ahhh, bless Thank you Cardinal Wolsey for allowing me too steal from your pictures x x

a small (very small) addiction I have

It is yarn, not your run of the mill yarn, but strokeable yarn....mmmmm