This photo was taken in late spring but turning it upside down makes it look decidedly autumnal (well, to me anyway!)
Showing posts with label The Great Outdoors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Great Outdoors. Show all posts
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Monday, 4 October 2010
Thursday, 23 September 2010
Tomatoes Ripening At Last!
So, my tomatoes are finally starting to ripen and according to the weather reports Winter is just around the corner!
My Dad did warn me that I might have problems with them as I grew them from seed but didn't start till mid-May. I've also done a very poor job of nipping out the side shoots as the plants look like shrubs and they shouldn't do!
Hopefully we'll get some lovely tomatoes to eat (I've had one and they are yummy) rather than having to make gallons of green tomato chutney!
And speaking of which we have made pickles and jam but I'll blog about them later.
Saturday, 14 August 2010
Knitting at the Beach and The 4x4 Show
We had a nice week in Devon (I'll pop some photo's up when I get them sorted out) and Mr Earplug's took an extra week off work so we have had a few daytrips too.
If we want a day at the beach then we usually head to Hengistbury Head but this time decided to go a bit further west to Boscombe. I've never been there before but I'll go again as it's great to be able to park up just feet from the beach with no need to lug all your beach gear more than about 20 feet from your car.
I decided to do a bit of work on Miss Muffett's much maligned second attempt poncho while Tiddler ate the sand and Mr Earplugs and Nipper had a paddle:
I didn't get very far with the knitting - the sea air seems to make stuff feel somehow sticky and I just couldn't get the yarn to 'flow' through my fingers the way I like when I'm knitting. I think that's probably just an excuse to stop though as I'm pretty much hating knitting this darned poncho!
But then, check out those clouds:
Yes, it poured down - good old english summer weather! So we retreated into our beach shelter and watched the rain and had a sandwich. The boys don't seem to mind whether it's raining or not. They just like digging holes!
Then today we went to The Berkshire 4x4 Show as Nipper really loves monster trucks and this show is within easy driving distance. It's not really my thing, and it rained, and the field was like a mud bath, but the boys liked it! Some of it was a bit ridiculous - check out this Mini:
And if you like monster trucks then here are a couple more:
And for a bit of a diversion check out 'Joseph' jumping through a ring of fire on his push bike! He was wearing a very fetching pair of frilly gold pants and not a lot else!
The finale was a bunch of cars getting crumped by the star of the show (before it karked it and got stuck on top of the cars!)
Now this would have been a great chance to sit in the tea tent and knit - shame I left the dreaded poncho at home!
If we want a day at the beach then we usually head to Hengistbury Head but this time decided to go a bit further west to Boscombe. I've never been there before but I'll go again as it's great to be able to park up just feet from the beach with no need to lug all your beach gear more than about 20 feet from your car.
I decided to do a bit of work on Miss Muffett's much maligned second attempt poncho while Tiddler ate the sand and Mr Earplugs and Nipper had a paddle:
I didn't get very far with the knitting - the sea air seems to make stuff feel somehow sticky and I just couldn't get the yarn to 'flow' through my fingers the way I like when I'm knitting. I think that's probably just an excuse to stop though as I'm pretty much hating knitting this darned poncho!
But then, check out those clouds:
Yes, it poured down - good old english summer weather! So we retreated into our beach shelter and watched the rain and had a sandwich. The boys don't seem to mind whether it's raining or not. They just like digging holes!
Then today we went to The Berkshire 4x4 Show as Nipper really loves monster trucks and this show is within easy driving distance. It's not really my thing, and it rained, and the field was like a mud bath, but the boys liked it! Some of it was a bit ridiculous - check out this Mini:
And if you like monster trucks then here are a couple more:
And for a bit of a diversion check out 'Joseph' jumping through a ring of fire on his push bike! He was wearing a very fetching pair of frilly gold pants and not a lot else!
The finale was a bunch of cars getting crumped by the star of the show (before it karked it and got stuck on top of the cars!)
Now this would have been a great chance to sit in the tea tent and knit - shame I left the dreaded poncho at home!
Monday, 9 August 2010
Carrots!
Honestly, you'd think I invented growing vegetables by the amount of excitement that happens every time I harvest something!
(Those are my strawberries too!)
Friday, 30 July 2010
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!
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!
Sunday, 10 January 2010
I Wasn't Going To Talk About The Snow..........
Especially as whole swathes of the country have it far worse than we do, not to mention other parts of the world.
But it really has been exceptional - nothing like it in the last 40 years in our area. I even had to dig the car out!
It reminds me very much of when I was a teenager back in Lancashire, trudging to school through snow which was as high as my welly boots.
No school closures for us back then. Miss Muffett has been at home most of the week, Nipper's nursery is closed and Mr Earplugs has been working from home. They are driving me nuts and I can't wait for a return to normal so I can enjoy nice quiet mornings with Tiddler again.
They have had lots of fun in the snow though. Miss Muffett has a sore bum from sledging down the hill on a biscuit tin lid and Nipper and Mr Earplugs were attempting to build an igloo. As fast as Mr Earplugs was building it Nipper was coming along and trashing it!
Just look at my poor Lilac though.
It had reached 'tree' proportions but the snow bent it double and it has snapped. On seeing this I got out there with a big stick and bashed all the snow off my Damson, the curly Willow and the Apple as I don't want to lose them too.
I hope it clears up soon - I've got a new shed coming and I really don't fancy trying to put it up in these conditions!
But it really has been exceptional - nothing like it in the last 40 years in our area. I even had to dig the car out!
It reminds me very much of when I was a teenager back in Lancashire, trudging to school through snow which was as high as my welly boots.
No school closures for us back then. Miss Muffett has been at home most of the week, Nipper's nursery is closed and Mr Earplugs has been working from home. They are driving me nuts and I can't wait for a return to normal so I can enjoy nice quiet mornings with Tiddler again.
They have had lots of fun in the snow though. Miss Muffett has a sore bum from sledging down the hill on a biscuit tin lid and Nipper and Mr Earplugs were attempting to build an igloo. As fast as Mr Earplugs was building it Nipper was coming along and trashing it!
Just look at my poor Lilac though.
It had reached 'tree' proportions but the snow bent it double and it has snapped. On seeing this I got out there with a big stick and bashed all the snow off my Damson, the curly Willow and the Apple as I don't want to lose them too.
I hope it clears up soon - I've got a new shed coming and I really don't fancy trying to put it up in these conditions!
Monday, 1 June 2009
Things I Probably Shouldn't Be Doing At 38 Weeks Pregnant!
1). Building shelving systems:
Though it's so good to have the toys going 'up' the wall instead of across the floor (Mr Earplugs did help) and we can now find what we want to play with.
2). Yanking all the ivy off the garden wall. We've been trying to keep the ivy in check but it's a constant struggle and it's getting into the borders and the lawn, not to mention growing about 8 foot high in places, and ruining the pointing:
So, it had to go:
Now we have a lovely ivy free wall which we can repair:
And a space to put a small shed (we have a shed already but it's too big and rotten in places so that'll be going soon too!):
3). Spending a couple of hours traipsing around Heathrow looking for the 'spectators area' which is signposted but doesn't actually exist anymore! I had a few choice words to say about that! We were able to watch some planes taking off by hanging around the car-park (which you're not supposed to do apparently??). We also found a spot outside of the perimeter fence where you can watch the planes coming into land. They are so low at this point that you feel as if you could reach out and touch them. It was quite an experience and Nipper loved it. Wish I'd taken the camera!
3). Spending a couple of hours traipsing around Heathrow looking for the 'spectators area' which is signposted but doesn't actually exist anymore! I had a few choice words to say about that! We were able to watch some planes taking off by hanging around the car-park (which you're not supposed to do apparently??). We also found a spot outside of the perimeter fence where you can watch the planes coming into land. They are so low at this point that you feel as if you could reach out and touch them. It was quite an experience and Nipper loved it. Wish I'd taken the camera!
4). Clambering around with Nipper on the equipment here with a view to getting him a play-frame (not from here though as they are a bit pricey). Mr Earplug's Grandad left him a bit of money when he died recently and we know he would love the idea of a play-frame for the kids. Unfortunately we have a slightly stroppy neighbour who I'm sure will make a complaint about it. I tried to head this off by asking the local Council's advice but they were useless. There isn't any legislation that specifically covers kiddies play equipment so they wouldn't give me any advice. So we'll have to put it up and see what happens and possibly apply for planning permission! I ask you - planning permission for a play-frame!
Following the ivy yanking and the kitchen refurb we're left with this:
So from now until the 12th we'll be skip-filling (got one coming tomorrow).
Pregnancy Update:
Well, so much for me saying I'm going to take it easy. We've had far too much to do! I think the iron tablets must be giving me a new lease of life - lol! Having said that, I'm quite tired as I can't find a comfortable sleeping position. I'm also having severe braxton hicks. I only had mild contractions for a few days before Nipper was born and none at all before Miss Muffett came along. These are so painful that I have to practice a bit of deep breathing! Hope that doesn't mean that new Nipper is coming early! I'll be having an afternoon at the hospital later this week for a 'pre-op' visit and a trip to the path lab next week for blood samples to be held in case something goes wrong - don't like the sound of that!
Re the registrar telling us we couldn't have skin-to-skin contact - I went to a 'c-section class' and was able to talk to a theatre midwife who said that it will be possible. We just have to tell the midwife and anaesthetist on the day and they will make it possible. I figured that might be the case. Shame that the 'higher-ups' who are often giving you information don't actually know the reality! Isn't that often the way though?!
And finally, something which I did, but which probably should have been done a few weeks ago really - set up a 'baby station' in our bedroom:
My lovely (if somewhat dated) gliding rocker came from Ebay for just £24 and a trip by Mr Earplugs to collect it. I also washed the moses basket:
So if new Nipper comes early I think we might just be ready for him - aside from the fact that we'll have to wait about an hour for m-i-l to get here!
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
So Much Snow!
Well, I couldn't let all the snowy weather pass without a blog post about it. Anyone reading this who has to suffer serious snow each winter will probably think I'm bonkers for enthusing about it. But in the 25 or so years that I've been living in the south I've never seen it coming down like this:
Nor it settling, and staying for days, like this:
I attempted a shopping trip into town but the pavements were so icy that I had to walk in the road (a very busy one) so I decided the shopping could wait! Nipper was very bemused by it all but soon got stuck in with his too big welly boots on, and 'helped' his sister to build a snowman. She was very excited about the snow to start with but the novelty soon wore off when she had to walk to school in it. It takes her 45 minutes each way so it's not really much fun when it's freezing cold!
Hopefully it'll be another 25 years before we get any more weather like this!
Nor it settling, and staying for days, like this:
I attempted a shopping trip into town but the pavements were so icy that I had to walk in the road (a very busy one) so I decided the shopping could wait! Nipper was very bemused by it all but soon got stuck in with his too big welly boots on, and 'helped' his sister to build a snowman. She was very excited about the snow to start with but the novelty soon wore off when she had to walk to school in it. It takes her 45 minutes each way so it's not really much fun when it's freezing cold!
Hopefully it'll be another 25 years before we get any more weather like this!
Monday, 3 November 2008
A Very Busy Few Days
We have had a very busy few days! Mr Earplugs took a few days off work and we thought about going away, but as I'm feeling rather rough I was happy to stay at home! It was a good thing really as Thursday was a flurry of appointments and dashing here and there - dentist appointments for us all, dry cleaning to drop off, Miss Muffett to drop at her Dad's, car to go for a service, visit to a nursery for Nipper, my long awaited doctor's appointment (more of that later), and then retrieving the car.
I was hoping to post a photo of a fabulous Halloween lantern but sadly my pumpkin is still in it's natural state. Miss Muffett wasn't too bothered as she spent Halloween gadding about London with her Dad, Uncle and Aunt (and they went to see Joseph too - lucky girl). Nipper couldn't care less either as he's been rolling the thing around the house like some sort of boulder.
This was the closest to Halloween that we got (display at Legoland):
Legoland is within reasonable driving distance of us and as we had some 2 for 1 tickets we decided to go on Friday. Nipper was too small for most of the rides but he really enjoyed watching them, especially the 'weeeeee splash' (the log flume). Aside from the pumpkin photo we only managed one more before the camera packed up. I bought a spare battery for just such moments but I hadn't charged it - doh! It was absolutely perishing cold (I may be a northerner but I really don't do 'cold'!) . We had a good time though, despite my feeling sick a lot and Nipper having a nappy malfunction whilst sitting on his Dad's knee! Again I was prepared for just such an event with a set of spare clothes (for Nipper at least), however I had left them in the car in the car park - doh! Are you getting a kind of theme here? The day ended with a fantastic fireworks display set to the music of Star Wars. Almost every kid in the place had a light-up light sabre and you could see hundreds of them glowing in the dark.
On Saturday we decided to go to the Sealife Centre in Brighton (more 2 for 1 tickets). I use the term 'we' very loosely as it certainly wasn't my idea to venture forth when it was bucketing down! We made it to Brighton in really good time. This was probably due to the fact that no-one else was daft enough to be heading for the seaside in torrential rain! The carpark by the centre was closed so we had to park a 15 minute walk away and got absolutely soaked to the skin. Even my underwear was wet! Not nice! It's a very interesting place to visit but Nipper spent more time jumping off the steps than he did looking at fish. I managed to get a photo of the Stingrays though most of the fish were just too fast:
Nipper might not have liked the fish but he was very interested in the Amazonian 'poison-dart' Frogs. I couldn't get a photo of them as their tank was all misted up but here's a good likeness (Nipper's rubber frog, bought as a souvenir):
Pregnancy update:
The spotting seems to have stopped, which is a relief. I'm as sick as a dog as they say but I'll try not to whinge on too much about that. If you don't hear from me for a while it's because being at the computer makes me feel worse! My trip to the Doctor resulted in being sent to the hospital to be stuck with a needle, twice actually, once on Friday and again this morning, in order to check for a rise in hcg levels. I'm also booked in for a scan on Wednesday morning so we should know by then if everything looks to be ok at this stage.
And finally, if you're interested in finding new and under-rated blogs then check out this idea.
I was hoping to post a photo of a fabulous Halloween lantern but sadly my pumpkin is still in it's natural state. Miss Muffett wasn't too bothered as she spent Halloween gadding about London with her Dad, Uncle and Aunt (and they went to see Joseph too - lucky girl). Nipper couldn't care less either as he's been rolling the thing around the house like some sort of boulder.
This was the closest to Halloween that we got (display at Legoland):
Legoland is within reasonable driving distance of us and as we had some 2 for 1 tickets we decided to go on Friday. Nipper was too small for most of the rides but he really enjoyed watching them, especially the 'weeeeee splash' (the log flume). Aside from the pumpkin photo we only managed one more before the camera packed up. I bought a spare battery for just such moments but I hadn't charged it - doh! It was absolutely perishing cold (I may be a northerner but I really don't do 'cold'!) . We had a good time though, despite my feeling sick a lot and Nipper having a nappy malfunction whilst sitting on his Dad's knee! Again I was prepared for just such an event with a set of spare clothes (for Nipper at least), however I had left them in the car in the car park - doh! Are you getting a kind of theme here? The day ended with a fantastic fireworks display set to the music of Star Wars. Almost every kid in the place had a light-up light sabre and you could see hundreds of them glowing in the dark.
On Saturday we decided to go to the Sealife Centre in Brighton (more 2 for 1 tickets). I use the term 'we' very loosely as it certainly wasn't my idea to venture forth when it was bucketing down! We made it to Brighton in really good time. This was probably due to the fact that no-one else was daft enough to be heading for the seaside in torrential rain! The carpark by the centre was closed so we had to park a 15 minute walk away and got absolutely soaked to the skin. Even my underwear was wet! Not nice! It's a very interesting place to visit but Nipper spent more time jumping off the steps than he did looking at fish. I managed to get a photo of the Stingrays though most of the fish were just too fast:
Nipper might not have liked the fish but he was very interested in the Amazonian 'poison-dart' Frogs. I couldn't get a photo of them as their tank was all misted up but here's a good likeness (Nipper's rubber frog, bought as a souvenir):
Pregnancy update:
The spotting seems to have stopped, which is a relief. I'm as sick as a dog as they say but I'll try not to whinge on too much about that. If you don't hear from me for a while it's because being at the computer makes me feel worse! My trip to the Doctor resulted in being sent to the hospital to be stuck with a needle, twice actually, once on Friday and again this morning, in order to check for a rise in hcg levels. I'm also booked in for a scan on Wednesday morning so we should know by then if everything looks to be ok at this stage.
And finally, if you're interested in finding new and under-rated blogs then check out this idea.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
