Looking but not seeing.

It would seem that I've been walking around with my eyes closed for most of my life.  Out we trotted for a walk down the river on Sunday and stumbled across an elder bush full to bursting with flowers.  The smell can only be described as a wonderfully fragrant, citrus aroma and I was hooked!  So many ideas and so many recipes for this delicate little flower.

Whilst walking down the river bank we spied a very resourceful Mummy Moore Hen who has been able to make use of a discarded shopping trolley.

I feel it appropriate to remind you that we officially live in "Greater' London.  We could have been in the middle of Wiltshire!  Wonderful.

The boys on their "Bear hunt".  We can't go round it, we can't go over it, we'll have to go through it.

Anyone that knows me will tell you what a shocking fear of heights I have.  This has proved to be something of an issue as all that stands between me and a glut of elderflowers is a foot bridge over the A316!!!  Dear god!!  Heart racing, ear thumping, head spinning awfulness.  Simply painful.  Not helped at all by the kids insisting on telling me how high it was and how narrow.

This morning, whilst making the first and very vital brew of the day, I look out of my kitchen window to see a massive elder bush.  Then on the dogs morning constitutional what do I come across another one.  Why had I never seen these before?  Was it because I wasn't open to the world of possibilities that they presented or was it simply that I'm a bit of a towny and I have a very standard issue fear of things poisoning me.  Fortunately the man of the house has a deep knowledge of such things and is a willing taste tester.

And there was me thinking that the bush outside of my kitchen window was just pretty!

So, recipe for a cordial has been found and flowers have been collected.  I'd like to tell you all that it was a very graceful, ladylike even but that would be a whopper of a fib.  The truth is that it involved me (in my floral pinny naturally), mini man armed with a colander, a trampoline and a clothes line prop!  Fortunately the language was kept to a minimum.  I explained to mini man that we should never take more from mother nature than we need and that we must always say thank you for what we had taken.  This disguised the "thank **** for that" and the collecting of just 30 heads.

Such perfect little flower heads.

Steeping as instructed in boiling water and lemon and orange zest.  The smell is simply amazing.

Now to wait until I complete the mix and bottle until such time that I have a nice cold bottle of prosecco to do it justice.  I will keep you informed.

In other news...............

Green fly on my chilli plants!  RUDE!  I'm now the proud owner of  an atomiser of soapy water!

I have been busy crocheting more wonderful items from the world of Lucy at attic24.  Do pop over to her little patch of blog land.  I've started on the Christmas makes!  Ho ho ho. :-)

I am however pleased to tell you that all other residents of my window box are very happy indeed and starting to fill the space with colour and a little bit of yummy goodness (rocket just visible).

Very VERy good excuse, honest!

So before you all moan at me for disappearing again I can tell you that I have a fantastic excuse.......we moved, AGAIN!

The next step on our fab family adventure is LONDON baby!!!!!!!  How lucky does one family get?  We have all of our nations amazing capital on our door step and its awesome!  Its been like a two week holiday but with all of our stuff.  Very odd indeed.  We've been waking up and deciding to just "nip to Windsor" or "pop to Richmond".  We've decided to direct our annual holiday budget to 4 Merlin annual passes.  I did have a small heart attack at the £500 cost but the thought for just "trotting off" to the London Eye, Madam Tussauds, Thorpe Park and lets not forget LEGO LAND and the pill easier to swallow.  Not so mini man was practically catatonic when we told him.  I must say that I can't see filling the summer holidays with activities is going to be any problem at all this year.

Another thing which came as quite a shock to us was the amount of green space and wild life.  Its amazing.  We have Foxes, Parakeets, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coots, Moor Hens, Squirrels and stunning small blue butterflies (which I must accurately identify).  The dog totally let herself down by deciding to swim up the small river which flows near our house.  Ordinarily it wouldn't have been a problem but on this occasion she found a Mummy Mallard and her 11 baby ducklings.  Could we get the daft dog out, not a chance!  She must have swam 400m up stream, nutter!  Glad to say that the ducklings were all present and correct.  Also glad to report that the Mummy duck got a few good pecks at the mad mutt so I think it unlikely that she'll be doing it again.

I've been gathered up by the ladies on two occasions since we moved. The first was for an evening of Gin in the Mess which was extremely enjoyable and the second was for a bootcamp.  Distinctly less enjoyable at the time but decidedly addictive and well worth doing.  If you're in the London area and fancy some pain contact Sammie Fitness (she's on FB).  I can honestly say that my abdomen has only just stopped hurting but the results already are fab.

Sunday saw a trip to the Ace Cafe for the Royal British Legion Riders day.  AWESOME!!!!!!!  Not so awesome was the two hour journey home on the north circular.  Grrrrrr.

Any way, must get back to my blanket making and fairy folk creation.  I may have just accidentally ordered the Deramores Stylecraft "Lucy pack", what a dreadful thing to do.  I feel two blankets running side by side for a little while ;-).

So Her Majesty wasn't home but it was very kind of her to allow us to view her beautiful home.

Sunshine, beautiful bikes, cracking brew and great music.  Perfect!

Now as much as I've tried I just can't get my head around being on the back of a motorbike.  Anyone who knows me will know that this is much more me.

Great thanks to the Ace Cafe for their support of the RBLR.

In memory of Drummer Lee Rigby.  You will never be forgotten.

How very remiss of me!

Just going through old posts and I've realised that I promised to post photos of my Russian dolls.  I'm so sorry that I'd forgotten.  Drum roll please.........................................

They make me smile. x

All change!

Well the new address has been issued, very excited!!!!!!  I must say that I'm delighted.  1940's stone fire place and the original 1940's kitchen.  This would of course fill most people with an equal mix of dread on horror but I'm literally catatonic with glee.  My mind is full of possibilities and Pinterest is egging me on.  Naughty Pinterest.

More new things in the house since my last blog.  When I was growing up we had two resident rocking chairs.  The first was a very masculine chair which we named "Albert".  Shortly after Albert came "Victoria".  These chairs were present right through my childhood until a move to the standard 1990's modern box of a house forced their sale.  Such a sad tragic event but I'm led to believe that we were all shipping out the lovely in favour of the modular.  I am now however in a position to right those wrongs.  I present you with..........................

....................................Mabel!!!  She's been rehomed as her current family are doing exactly what my parents did all of those years ago.  Hubster and myself just totally fell in love with her and collected her the day after we saw her.  Hubby has however banned me from crocheting anything for her!!!  The rudeness!!!  I'm sure he'll be away with his new post so I'm confident that I'll get my own way.


Winter returned with a sting in its tail in our little part of Hampshire.  Poor Jeff and Bungle have been fortified against the elements and are currently warmer than us.  On our travels yesterday we caught sight of the most amazing side effect of a rather sorry looking plumbing issue with an empty house on patch.

Happy to report that the weather has cheered up and the house is back in rude health.

My next project has been decided.  I, she of the bobbing phobia, have decided to make a quilt!  Oh yes indeedy.  To break down the vastness of this task and to address the sheer lack of skill, I have opted to start with a set of quilted coasters.  I will of course keep you informed of progress.

Cooking continues to be a large part of my life and will do for the next two weeks as they are my last two weeks in the nursery kitchen.  In the spirt of fundraising for Comic Relief we have been baking like our lives depended on it.  My contribution to the cake sale was an absolute triumph of yummy americaness and I really must run them past my American friends for absolute clarification of acceptance.

Cinnamon rolls prior to icing. Yummer! 

In other news, the granny blanket is still going great guns!  I've completed 6.5 rows of the 10 row blanket.  I've also started a blobble blanket for a friend's baby which is due in no less than 3 weeks!  If I ever look like I may head in the direction of the bobble again please do feel free to slap me HARD!

Finally, this abomination came to my attention today......

GIN IN A BAG!!!!  RUDE!!!!

What an awesome week!!!

Sometimes you have months where weeks pass by in a fog of saminess (if thats even a word!).  Every day blurs into another.  This week has stood out amongst the others as an absolute corker!!  Its been half term in Hampshire and I've had to work but hubby has had the week off and therefore was delegated responsibility of child care and kiddy entertaining.  God love him, he's fabulous!  He decided that I needed some time away from the house duties and child wrangling so he only went and booked me into the local spa for the day!!!!!

Tuesday was spa day and off I toddled with my swimming costume and kindle.  What an amazing day!! I lost 5 hours to the relaxation room and the Twilight books, 1 hour to a back, neck and head massage and facial and 1 hour to saunas and steam rooms.  Rounded off with an afternoon tea that required at least 4 people to help me eat it.  Utter bliss.

Wednesday saw the kidnapping of the kids by my mother.  DATE NIGHT!!!!  Skyfall + rib eye steaks + red wine = relaxation galore!  If you haven't seen Skyfall yet, you must.  Hubby was graced with Daniel Craig's company when he watched it during his little "holiday".  Apparently its not the same watching it without him but I'm assured I come a close second!  Thanks lover!!

Friday saw a very cold and windy trip to our favourite beach.  Picnic packed, camera ready to rock and LOTS of layers on.  Bracing to say the least but the perfect opportunity to test out my new lens.  Check these out....................

Love a bit of cake!!!

In other news, "Operation Blanket" is still going great guns, Easter decoration manufacturing has begun and "Breaking Dawn" is underway.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

xxxx

Family and friends. Lovely Jubbly!

We are a full compliment this weekend.  All 5 of us shoe horned into our little house and its FAB!!!  My "Wing Woman" step daughter has turned 18 and we're all feeling a bit old if the truth be told.

There was a distinctly american theme to my kitchen yesterday.  The other lady of the house has a slight addiction to my american pancakes, bacon and blue berry syrup and so her wish was my command.  There were also more promotion celebrations to be had.  I packed my fridge with Champagne and Kirsch and covered my table in all of the components to make delicious burritos.  Yummy!!!  I was amazed that an actually real life American thought my burritos were wonderful, praise indeed!  We are always thrilled to have guests but especially ones who are as nutty as we are and enjoy having the Rugby on the telly, a glass in hand and a plate full of tasty food.  Fireworks were also planned but sadly the fog came in and put pay to that.

It would seem that I'm allergic to grapes!  I have a bit of a headache this morning and I don't know why.

In other news......I've been recycling!  I love Yankee Candles and in the spirit of all things American (and thrifty) I decided to recycle my old candles.  I find that they are rather pricey but an essential part of our home.  I also find that there is always about half an inch of wax in the bottom of the jar that will not burn as the wick has already burned its last.  I'd been surfing on Pinterest and found that those frightfully ingenious Americans melt them down and create a whole new candle with the left overs.  My new wicks arrived yesterday morning and I had some little jars on stand by (that formerly held a votive candle so I was assured of their suitability for the job) so I decided to grasp the nettle and go for it!  I placed a pan of water on the hob, placed the candle inside and let the water almost reach the boil.  I  allowed the heat to melt the wax but did not allow it to get too hot as I had been told that if the wax starts to smoke then its ruined.  I placed the new wick in the prepared jar and poured the melted wax in.  PERFECT!

Genius use of a clothes peg to hold the wick in place.  Not my idea, much to sensible, Mummy dearest imparted her knowledge.

In other other news................

My glorious Amaryllis has unfurled in all of its wondrous beauty.

 

And finally........

Mini Man decided to make the Tortoise a new house.  I think Verns excited.  Difficult to tell.

Back to normal.

Well we're all back from a wonderful week in Disney Land Paris and all fully rested ready to take on the coming week.

We had an amazing time playing, eating, relaxing, gazing in wondrous awe at the fantastic 20th anniversary celebrations and just soaking up time having Daddy home from his little "holiday".

Now even the most miserable "grown up" can't fail to melt into a giddy child in the face of Disney at full power.  I've been lucky enough to go 3 times now and even witnessed the Christmas celebrations.  Nothing beats Disney at night.  Stunning. 

Even in the wet and wind its still breathtaking.  Its not the normal natural beauty that I enjoy surrounding myself with or indeed the low maintenance simplicity of my lovely cosy home but it is fantastic and I'm delighted that we have been fortunate enough to share it with our children.

It's Disney land Paris' 20th anniversary and the celebrations are spectacular.  If you can get there to see it then I strongly suggest you do.  The laser and firework show on the castle in the black back drop of night were an experience that none of us will ever forget.

Just have to love Mickey!

I'm afraid that a photo was as close as I got to having this fabulous hat forever.  I loved it but there was no way that I could justify its cost.  Lets just say that the exchange rate was not in our favour.  A small glass of red wine worked out at £5.50!!!

During our break we also got wind of the next phase of our family adventure.  Looks like I'd better stock up on Cilit Bang and packing boxes sooner than I'd thought.  On wards and upwards.  Even more happy times, we have been spoilt.

The one thing (other than the exchange rate) that I do despair at with the Disney experience is the sheer lack of vegetables and fruit.  Even the fruit at breakfast is from a massive tin and served in syrup.  My wonderful adventurous hubby took his pigeon french off to the nearest town to stock up on supplies.  I've never seen the kids eyes out on stalks for a bag of apples before.  I suppose they are so used to a fully stocked fruit bowl but I kid you not, they devoured a bag of apples in little more than an hour!  We've had so many veg since we came home.  Also people, take cups and brew kit!!!!!  What use is a kettle with out the other stuff.  PACK IT AND TAKE IT!!!

In other news I have decided to start a crochet blanket.  Its no secret that I'm an avid reader of Lucy's blog at Attic24 and she is a huge inspiration to me.  I would also like to point out that she is just and inspiration and that I respect her creative ability enough not to copy her.  Nothing irritates me more than people who just plagiarise.  Respect, appreciate and attribute full credit if required.  In this instance I would say that I am following one of her "ta da's", go over and check out her granny square blanket.  I'm aspiring to it although I've never had the stamina to complete a blanket yet so a few flying pigs may fly by before it evolves into something more than a carrier bag of wool and odd squares.

Well, normality is screaming my name.  School bags need sorting, work bags need finding again and nursery committee minutes need finishing.  Pass me my hooks!