Beach and beech

 

I just thought I'd quickly share my last few photos of Dorset with you before I do a proper post about the weekend.  I honestly could have spent the whole time we were away, taking photos - I just love it down there.  (If I knew how to make the word 'love' flash there, I would - that is the extent of my adoration).  And, rather excitingly, the reason I couldn't do this post last night is because Mr Nut was using the computer to complete a job application for a job in....the southwest!  I have everything crossed for him (which is making it rather hard to type...)
So...one of our little outdoorsy activities was to visit a lovely National Trust property near my mum's that we often go to when we are visiting her.  The boys love it because the woods there are perfect for playing Robin Hood, having battles, building dens and having all manner of boy-related fun.
I love it because it's beautiful:

(I've no idea who the woman in the hat is - I hope she doesn't mind being on my blog!)

I wandered around with my mouth open taking pictures and having an internal debate about whether beech trees or oak trees are my favourite (sometimes I remind myself of Homer Simpson), baby nut tottered around looking at twigs and periodically sitting down for a bit of a leaf-scrunch and the boys got on with an important construction project:

It was generally quite idyllic and brilliant really and then, as if it couldn't get any better, we had an ice cream.  Happy days indeed.

And the second little outdoorsy activity I've yet to show you, was a trip to the beach (natch).  This was a bit of an impromptu visit and we weren't very well prepared, but it was still lovely.

What picnic is complete without jam sandwiches?

 What is it about boys that makes them need to have rough and tumble (does everyone call it that, or is it just us??) at absolutely any time and in any situation?  Will they every grow out of it?  Will I be sad when they do?

I say we weren't very well prepared, but of course I did have my crochet with me - like I've said before, I have got my priorities! x

I won an award!!

I'm so excited, I won an award!  I can't believe it - someone else not only reads my whitterings, but even thinks they're alright...  Thanks Cuckoo!  I'm just so chuffed.  It's so hard to be objective about your own blog - every one else's always looks better/sounds better/inspires more and so it's just lovely to think that somebody might be enjoying mine too.
I'm going to pass it on to Cupcakejojo.  This blog is a recent discovery for me, but it looks lovely, uses gorgeous colours and I'm looking forward to reading more... x

Crochet update - April

If I had a watering can like this one, I'd water my plants every day, rain or shine.

Anyway, I'm getting distracted from the task in hand: a crochet update for April.  I've decided I'm going to do this at the end of every month so that you can see what I've been pootling away at, and so that I've got some sort of record to show me that, despite the chaos, I do manage to achieve some things some times!

So, without further ado, I bring you April's activities.  Hurrah!

Firstly I bring you my little stars bunting.  This was a very quick and lovely project to work on and the stars look perfectly at home on my bedroom mirror now, which is where I'd always visualised them.  I first saw these at the lovely Tales from Cuckoo Land blog - thank you for the idea, Cuckoo!

I am extremely partial to a bit of bunting, as you may have realised by now if you've been reading my blog for a while.  I think it's just so pretty and cheerful and I am in grave danger of my house being completely over-run by it (cue long-suffering eye-roll from Mr Nut).  In fact, I might set up the Bunting Appreciation Society for all like-minded flag-addicts.  

This brings me neatly on to my second April project: bedroom bunting.  This pattern came from the gorgeous Crochet with Raymond blog (with slight, unintentional alterations by me!)

It's a present for a lovely friend's daughter's birthday, which is in June and I reeeealllly hope she likes it!

My third project for April is my little flower squares cushion, which I finished today and which I haven't stopped gazing at since because I love it.

This project just came from my head (though I did follow patterns for the actual squares) and it all just fell into place most serendipitously - good karma all round!
The front and back are different:

 

I am going to find it very hard to let the children anywhere near this cushion for fear that they may sully its pristine whiteness.  Ugh, sticky little fingers grabbing at (shudder).  I think I probably just need to get over that though - the stress would finish me off! x
PS - springtime throw square count is up to 186!!!  Yippeee skippeee!

Granny's garden of flowery loveliness

Aaaagh, I'm having a slightly panicky moment.  I've got so many things that I ought to be doing.  There's nothing enormous, just lots of fiddly little things, but when you add them all up there's enough to make me slightly hyperventilate. 

Eeeek. Must. Calm. Down...

mmmmmmm - lots of deep breaths and some photos from my gran's lovely garden - that should do the trick.

I asked my mum if this was a willow and she said that yes, it is a willow.  A wiggly willow.  If I ever start my own company I think I'll call it Wiggly Willow, I think it's a brilliant name.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful - my gran's put so much time and love into this garden and it really shows.

Right, I need to go off and panic a bit more so I'll leave you with one last photo, because really, what blog post isn't enhanced by a picture of a ladybird's bottom? x

Happy Easter!

I love this little arrangement of chicks that big nut had set up on my mum's dining room table.  It makes me think of Saturday Night Fever.  They're actually wearing little flares - you just can't see them because of the angle of the photo.  Also, I love the fact that each chick is standing on the colour square that most closely matches their own colour - now that's a level of coordination that I am very proud of!
Today was another stunner - wall-to-wall sun and lots of outdoorsy fun.

Just look what the Easter bunny brought for baby nut.  Isn't he clever to know that she can't have chocolate?
There was no such chocolate-free nonsense for the two bigger nuts, however:

I was rumbled while taking the photo above.  Here's the scene two seconds later:

Hmmmm - a pretty good haul...

We spent the afternoon at my gran's house.  Her garden really is amazingly lovely and so I, obviously, went completely overboard on the gratuitous flower shots.  I took so many, in fact, that I'm going to have to do a separate post about just that! 

The adults spent the afternoon slumped in chairs in the garden, while the three nut children variously ran around like loons, played football, ate mud and grass, had battles, ate as much chocolate as they could without us noticing, and practised their new-found walking skills (oh yes, baby nut is really no longer a baby - not sure 'toddler nut' has quite the same ring to it though.)  

As we were all starting to crash down from our chocolate-induced sugar highs, we brought out high tea (a bit of a feature of Sunday afternoons at my gran's - and long may it continue):

This was a 'scripture cake', which I made from my new recipe book.  I'm not a religious person at all (nothing against it, it's just not a feature of my life), but this seemed a highly appropriate cake to be eating on Easter Sunday - it was made only with ingredients mentioned in the bible.  And despite having a slightly soggy middle (I'm not the most patient person in the world and couldn't wait to get it out the oven), it was very yum indeed!
Hope you had a lovely, sunny, chocolatey day too x