trout & tagging

Had a great day yesterday and we caught 6 fine rainbow trout.....although there were many tense moments of bits of sweetcorn being flung about on nasty little hooks, trying to land jumping fish & then the brutal act of hitting them on the head 3 times to put them out of their misery...not too keen on the last one but I believe and think that my boys should be well aware of the food they eat, the road it has travelled and that if they aren't prepared to accept the killing then they shouldn't eat it. Needless to say with their usual vigour and lust for learning they embraced the whole process and were fascinated with the gutting process & had a lesson in swim bladders!

 

Home then for a yummy tea of grilled trout salad and chunky chips.....

So tagging....hmm not done this before so I'll give it a go

1 -What was I doing 10 years ago?

I had a 3mth old baby and lived 340 miles away from where I do now..We rambled about in our old vw, went surfing, camped out and chilled for a bit before I went back to work.

2- Things on my to do list today.

Tackle the overgrown garden

Get my weekly baking done

listen to the archers omnibus

eat wild boar sausages & ice cream...not together though!

3- Snacks I enjoy.

Fruit, carrots, bread, bread, bread....all homemade of course!

4- Things I would do if I was a millionaire.

Move somewhere with NO neighbours, go completely green & self sufficient, give gifts of 10,000 to people I know that really need it, fight with my husband about what we should do with it, buy the biggest aga that I could, buy a split screen vw campervan, give our old one to someone who need it.

5- Places I've lived.

Birchington, Minster, Ramsgate, Broadstairs, Salisbury, Clapham (North Yorkshire)

Tag 5 people

Like breaking rules so I might do this or I might not!!!!

beaches...a swap

I am hoping that my swap buddy has her little parcel so I thought I would post some pics on here. This months theme was beaches and being the practical misses that I am thought on of my journals would be a good way to go.....

So out came the sewing machine and scrap bag and the magical bondaweb & got started.

I am hoping that it goes down well as I haven't heard yet but I liked it!!

Next month is titled 'strawberries & cream' and I am thinking along the lines of something practical for a cream tea....maybe a tray cloth or hopefully my swap buddy will use a teapot 'cause I love making cosies..we'll see

Now onto the true crime of this week.....my dining room table! The boys have had to eat the breakfast on their laps and have not been too happy, this is why!

 

I have been a truely messy cat and one project at a time is never enough for me but 10 unfinished ones all going at the same time sounds much more interesting! So finishing a painting, covering some journals, making washable nappies, stitching a patchwork cot quilt and a patchwork blind for the nursery, making some jam and generally doing stuff, but really oil painting & a white linen patchwork blind aren't always the best bedfellows! Ho hum however much I promise myself not to start something else before the last thing is finished I never do.....no matter how hard you try leopards NEVER change their spots!!! (well not this one anyway).

Right we are off to take the boys trout fishing today and hopefully we'll have a yummy supper!

mary, mary, quite contrary........

how does your garden grow.....

At last the seeds are starting to poke their little leaves through the soil...can't remember what they are I am a bit rubbish at labelling!

Some lavender plant cuttings, a handsome geranium, mint making its annual come back and Tom's conker tree...after my post about the royal gardner who grew the first 6 horse chestnuts in England home from school comes my own little Tom 'John Tradescant' with his own little tree....there will be much love and tenderness going down with that little gem!! 

a good day for gems...

So here it is the spare room, the new project. As you can see rather a dumping ground for stuff that I keep intending to sort but just seem to keep shutting the door on! So I decided whilst I am feeling okay and haven't much in common with a beached whale yet I must crack on....First job is to sort & store away all  my bits which I hope to get on with this week. More to come......

Had a change about in the main bedroom, I seem to sleep better for a while if I move stuff about so here is the new set up. I am thinking of wallpapering one of the walls with some vintage paper I picked up recently but it may have to wait until more pressing jobs have been taken care of.

Had a great finds day today on the way to collect a cot thanks to Freecycle, which needs a good scrub and a lick of paint ready for pride of place in the nursery...have allsorts of ideas for bumpers & quilts,

We spotted a random boot fair and nipped in on the way back and managed to snaffle these gems

Two lovely oval mirrors in great condition, and these rather divine wooden candlesticks.....and the best find of the day this yummy eiderdown and its green......hoo blimin rah

Already washed and drying nicely ready to take pride on place at the end of the bed.... I just missed a slightly smaller one but the way I see it there's someone else out there chuffed at their haul.

Then to top off the day my youngest (aged 7 I might add) went for a 10mile walk up a mountain and brought his Mum & bean these wonderful flowers...thank you rom pom Tom XX

 

earthly joys

oops really wanted to mention this book 'Earthly Joys' by Phillipa Gregory...in my floral post, it was fab.

A great novel set in the early 1600 about a gardener John Tradescant who served many of the great men of that age. What really stuck with me is that he was the first man to cultivate horse chestnuts in England, a tree that I see everyday and just always assume has been here forever, how differently I now look at those lovely pink & white cones & look forward to conker season and maybe cultivating one ourselves.

There is also a sequel telling the story of his son crossing the americas on an adventure and the strife of the civil war her in England so I hope that gets to the library soon.

I highly recommend this book and others by the same Author as I seem to be working my way through her entire collection!!!

Floral Heaven

As I've been a bit slack on the posting front and my house is a shabby tip rather than an inspiration I thought I would post some pics that I took on a trip to the botanical gardens in Edinburgh last year....

I love alliums they are my fav flowers and I never lose my sense of awe at them

aren't they just divine (even with the rubbish photography!!)

and then there's the rose, so sweet and delicious I wish that I could grow them with some success but alas I just seem to end up with some brown thorny twigs and a pathetic looking flower half dead at the end....certainly not like these!

anyway a flower always lifts my heart and brings a smile to my face even when I feel completely rubbish, full of woe and sorry for myself.

Hopefully I shall be starting the makeover of my spare room/dumping ground for stuff into my vintage/shabby/retro nursery soon and I thought I would record my progress here so if your interested check back soon and I'll be posting some pics. Off to collect a cot tomorrow so it'll be the first freecycle addition to the new room.

   

long time.....no type

Finally have spent sometime online....even if it is on the sofa, stuffed up with cold! Am starting to feel a little bit more human now although the insomnia is a killer, so energy levels are still at an all time low but at least I dont feel constantly sick.....bleugh.

And so to the very belated winner of the Friday giveaway.......and the lucky winner is 'Jane' (so if you let me have your address I'll pop the lovely journal in the post) hopefully there will be more giveaways in the pipeline...so stay tuned.

I will also be starting the nursery makeover soon so lots of photos coming soon.

Take Care everyone and thankyou for your lovely comments even though I have been extremely slack in the posting department......