Catch Up Before Holiday Time

I don't know where the time goes! I've been meaning to do a post for I don't know how long but never get to it! So here is a quick catch up.

All three kiddies have had birthdays recently. Tiddler turned one:





He had a little family party at home which was slightly scuppered by my S-I-L's cat having an accident and everyone having to rally around to get it sorted out. Nevertheless he enjoyed the day and his cake! I managed to finish his quilt much to my surprise. It turned out really well (considering I can't get a walking foot for my machine) and I love it.





Nipper turned four:



He had a party for his nursery friends at a local leisure centre where you could hire the bouncy castle and soft play equipment. A fab time was had by all though the service from centre staff left a lot to be desired, the worst of which was when one of the kids was sick and the reception staff handed my daughter one wet jaycloth to deal with it. How can you clean up sick with one jaycloth?! No paper towels available anywhere - not even in the toilets, no disinfectant provided - yuck! Won't be going there again, nor recommending it - lol! Unfortunately I didn't finish his quilt - it's still a work in progress and he doesn't seem to mind. I bought him some Thomas trains and tracks off Ebay and he was over the moon with them.

I'm not doing too well on the crafty front generally. I eventually frogged Miss Muffett's poncho and I'm now attempting it again on smaller needles. It just wasnt working out - the Debbie Bliss cotton did not like being knitted up on a 10mm needle. We'll see how we get on with the new version.

Miss Muffett turned fourteen. Here she is with Tiddler's present - the cat thingy from Waybuloo (she has a thing about cats!)



She was easy to please - an LG Pop phone from me, some arty supples from Nipper, and a trip to the cinema and Pizza Hut with her best buddies. She even came home with some change from the cash I'd given her. I was impressed.

We were also impressed and very proud of her achievements at Junior Prizegiving. She has received prizes each year that she's been at secondary school but I've not been able to attend the ceremony before as they don't allow you to take young children (wonder if they'd have turned me away if I'd turned up with Tiddler anyway??) She received the lower school award for Drama, and also the Academic Achievement award for her year group. To top it off she came first in the 100m at sports day and was only beaten in the relay by the team who run for the school. Apparently her teachers are urging her to stand for head girl so Year 10 could be a very interesting year.

We've been to some lovely Summer fairs, four so far. I love them. Give me a cup of tea, a piece of cake, a book stall to have a rummage and a bouncy castle to entertain Nipper and I'm a happy bunny. We picked up some great books and cd's and some educational stuff for Nipper which looked brand new. But best of all was the visiting Fire Engine which came to Nipper's Nursery Fair. They allowed the kids to sit inside and pretend to drive. The nursery staff had a fireman's helmet and took pictures of the kids and gave them a certificate. Nipper was over the moon:



Some very exciting things have been going on in the garden! I decided to have a go at growing some veg, though left it a little bit late to be growing from seed, so I don't know how things will turn out. Here's a glimpse - the courgettes are doing very well and I'll soon have to start giving them away as we can't eat them fast enough:





The little ridge cucumbers are very sweet tasting:



The tomatoes are just starting to flower:



I never realised that pumpkins would take over the garden though given the size of the fruit it should have been obvious!





And look at this little chap having a whale of a time inside the flower:



The baby squashes are so cute!



What do you think of my lettuces?



Yes, they are nasturtiums. I gave up after 3 seperate plantings were gobbled up by an unknown critter. I'm having better luck with my 4th lot which are sitting on top of the guinea hutch:



I can only assume that the slugs dont like the feel of the roofing felt?

And remember this - the space where the old rotten shed used to be:



Well it's now this:



If only I had time to sit in it! It's become a den for Miss Muffett and her mates! It was a very kind and generous present from Mr Earplug's parents. It took a while to get it up and painted but it's lovely and won't be a teenage den for long!

Oh, and I finally got the remainder of the money that was outstanding following my car being pranged by the lorry driver - only took 16 months and a court case to get it!!

We're off to Devon tomorrow. This time we're having a whole week away and I cant wait!

Catch Up Before Holiday Time