Birthday Treats

Good morning everyone, hope you have had a good week.

On Monday yours truly celebrated her birthday - one of those "in-between one BIG birthday and the next BIG birthday" if you know what I mean...;)

It was a work day, but I was truly spoiled by family, friends and colleagues.

My lovely DH and children clubbed together to buy me something I had long been wanting, an android tablet.  This means that when I am travelling I can upload Kindle books to it, videos, etc, then read/watch these on the plane/boat/in the hotel, etc.  Plus it is so much faster and easier than firing up the computer at home.  There is no temptation to check work emails or type reports as I haven't linked my work email to it, and it does not have Word or Excel on it.  In fact, it is purely all play and no work!  I have worked out how to blog on it, now I need to find out if I can link my camera by a cable to transfer photos so I can do this properly.  I can certainly use it to comment on your blogs which is fab.  DH has also upgraded my phone, which I am hoping to pick up today.

I had perfume, and lots of lovely things for the bath, some of which are travel size which is very handy. 

I received this from my bestest friend, Sue, the fungi are hand made by her in lampworked glass, and the log is actually made from the remnants of one of my favourite autumnal things...isn't it wonderful?

She also made me this wonderful card, reflecting my love of Islamic architecture...

Moonstruck indeed...

This will be on permanent display I think!

And these lovely chocs...

 

And a pot of hyacynths...

 



 

AND a brand new, shiny 20 Euro note for my next European adventure!  Thank you so, so much Sue, you have really spoiled me!

 

I got lots of lovely cards...

 

 

and flowers...

 

 

And of course DD put on her apron and made a scrumptious cake...

 

 

 

 

What a wonderful day! I am very blessed to have such fabulous family and friends, I really do appreciate how fortunate I am.

 

Then on Thursday it was Best Brother's birthday, so we went to visit him with presents and of course DD sprang back into action...

 

 

He loves coffee so this was a Tiramasu inspired cake with chocolate coffee beans on top...

 

 

And on Tuesday, it was the fourth Anniversary of the start of this blog - four years: where has that gone?  Of course, it was Sue who got me into this lark - and how grateful I am that she did as I have made some wonderful friends and learned so much from all over the world.

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Helenxx





Blanket love

Hello everyone, hope the first full week of 2015 went well for you.  We went back to work, school, college and university this week, boy was it a shock on Monday morning!!  The week went reasonably well, thankfully, and here we are again on Sunday, and I realised I hardly had any time to read blogs, let alone post on mine. 

So I thought it high time I shared some photos of the lap blanket I made my Darling Mum as part of her Christmas gift.

I had to take photos just before gift wrapping it, so no fancy photography tricks I'm afraid!  Here it is on the back of my sofa...

The colours match her sofa and cushions, the yarn was self-patterning chunky weight so worked up nice and quickly...

She was very happy with it...

I am progressing well with my stash buster lap blanket, it has progressed beyond a huge granny square, and is now taking on a more rectangular shape.  It is so good to use all those scraps left from my 2014 challenge blanket.  Hopefully I will complete it in the next two weeks and then I can start my 2015 challenge blanket - some yarn has already been purchased as an in advance birthday treat from me to me!!  My birthday is actually tomorrow.  There has been quite a bit of furtive sneaking around the house this weekend, so don't know what the crew are up to!!

Have a lovely Sunday, hope the sun is shining where you are.

Helenxx

On a cold and frosty morning

Hello everyone, well, back to work, school, college and university today, weather grey, probably reflecting how many people feel getting back into the swing of everyday life!

But yesterday we awoke to a cold and frosty morning, so I made the most of it, grabbed my coat and my camera, and took some photos before the fleeting moment had passed.

The frost was so heavy that it looked like a dusting of icing sugar on the conifers...

The spider webs looked beautiful...

Twigs glistened...

But amongst all this cold and frost, there were glimpses of spring - the cherry trees are already forming buds...

And, tucked away at the side of the house were the two pots of bulbs I bought this time last year, and they are springing back into life! 

Hyacynths...

and mini daffodils...

I am looking to treat myself to a couple more pots of bulbs this week, I always buy some on my first week back to work after the holidays.  Usually they can be found quite cheaply and the scent and beauty of the flowers act as a real tonic.

I hope, if you returned to "normal" life today it all went well for you.

Helenxx

Lovely surprise!

Good morning everyone, hope you are enjoying the weekend.  We are slowly getting our head around the fact that it is back to work, school, college and university tomorrow.  The last 2 weeks have been wonderful, but have flown by far too quickly!  Oh well, only six weeks to half term...and we still have today to make the very most of!

Yesterday I had a lovely surprise all the way from America.  I heard the post arrive and was very pleased and excited indeed to see an envelope with this stamp...

and this sweet drawing in the corner...

This is what was inside the envelope...

A card from dear Teresa, my dear blogger friend!  I love the picture on the card, I think I am correct in saying that it is a photo of Teresa's fireplace in her lovely farm house, edited by the iphone or ipad watercolour app.  I think it is so effective...

Such a sweet message inside!

But that is not all - just look what Teresa made for me...

It is so intricate, absolutely stunning.

I am so delighted...

Teresa, thank you so, so much for thinking of me, I really do appreciate it.  The heart will be hung in my living room year round, it is too pretty to put away with the Christmas decorations!  I am so blessed to count you amongst my blog friends.

Bloggers really are the best!!

Helenxx

Crochet Blanket Challenge of 2014 - Project Completed!!

Hi everyone, hope the New Year is going well for you so far!

Exactly a year ago today I joined in the Crochet Blanket Challenge.  Some folks in blogland used this challenge to make a mood blanket, crocheting a square a day, or a square each week, in colours that reflected the feelings of that particular time.  I chose to go for a slightly different plan, using washed out wintry tones, which bought to my mind a forest in winter.  I chose to make 7 row grannies, and aimed to make one each week (although on some occasions I managed to make more).  And, on 30/12/14 the project was completed!

Would you like to see?

It is so soft and comfy...

I am so pleased with the colours I chose...

I joined the squares with a double crochet seam as I liked the idea of texture...

The border is Sandra's (Cherry Heart Blog) Grannies Patches Border pattern, it is an absolute dream to make...

 Vital statistics for this blanket:

• Yarn - a variety from my yarn stash, plus 3 extra balls of Stylecraft Special DK to make up the palette of colours I wanted
• Crochet hook size 4mm
• 54 Granny Squares, each square had 7 granny rows plus an edging of double crochet
• Granny Patches border from Sandra at Cherryheart blog

I still have quite a few oddments of yarn left so I am having a go at a square lap blanket to use up what I have.  I then have another blanket challenge in mind, to start perhaps after my birthday on the 12th - surely a        girl/middle aged woman is allowed to treat herself to some spiffing new yarn for a project that will keep her busy until the next Christmas holidays ;)  I am aiming for a palette of greys and parchment this time, with perhaps a little bit of black and white.  I would love the blanket to represent the colours of birch tree bark (remember my love of the Marimekko birch tree pattern?)

Here is my finished 2014 challenge blanket folded up on the back of my crafting chair, all ready for the chilly evenings ahead...

 

 

 

I am so pleased that I stuck with the project, and am unbelievably happy with the result!!  Did you join in the challenge, and if so, how did you get on?  I would love to hear about it!

 

Helenxx

New Years Day

Hello everyone, I hope you had a lovely New Years Day yesterday - we certainly made the most of it!

After a bit of a lie-in and pottering at home, we went down to see my Darling Mum and Best Brother to enjoy a New Year dinner.  We love to sit around her big table, enjoying each others company and of course eating good food!  BB always decorates her house for Christmas in grand style, with many of the decorations being vintage.  So many of them remind me of my childhood, and some belonged to my Mum when she was a child.  So I took the chance to take some photos and thought I would share them here.

The Christmas tree is very grand...

I love the star decoration, it was sent to her by our friends in Germany...

In the old days they used to light the tree with real candles, although of course that is not done these days, these are original candle holders that were used when my Mum was a child...

The reindeer is a recent edition, I always buy her a new ornament every year...

The Santa and his sleigh belonged to my brother when he was little...

love the sparkly tinsel...

The quite fiendish looking ornament was made by my eldest son when he was four...

This Santa is probably at least 95 years old, it belonged to my grandmother...

Merry and bright...

I drew this card for my Mum when I was 19 and at art college, she still displays it each year...

I remember being with my Mum when she bought this merry fellow in Woolworths in 1965...

Sparkly mini tree...

And spectacular hanging garlands...

We had such a lovely time,  my eldest son bought the Pointless Quiz Game book so we played many rounds, with I have to say some shocking results where I lost the jackpot round (a question about British bats) on a technicality - I said Horseshoe bat, but as I didn't stipulate either Greater or Lesser I lost...and was assured this was fair...hmmmmmm....and 7 Quality Street chocolates were the prize...#feeling robbed...

I hope you have had a lovely time over the holiday period with your loved ones, and that the days ahead are happy and full of everything you love best.

Helenxx

Welcome 2015!

Good morning and Happy New Year!  A whole New Year spread before us - hopefully we can all make the most of it and grab every new opportunity that comes our way.

Yesterday was a lovely day.  First there was some happy pootling about with some crochet in the morning (yes, I was the first to get up again, I love that quiet time before the household wakes up).  I had quite a lot of scraps of yarn left after completing my challenge blanket (which will have it's own post soon) so I am making a lap blanket for me - this is my progress so far...

I will make it as large as I can with the yarn I have left.  The rows are completely random in order as I am going with the smallest scraps to the largest left over to make the most of every bit of yarn.  But I am quite happy with the colour scheme so far.

Then my 3rd eldest son woke up and helped in the kitchen to make some veggie sausage rolls...

I had some puff pastry and home made mincemeat left so had a go at making pinwheel pastries...

These little treats didn't hang around for long because the rest of the brood were woken up by the cooking smells!

Then DH suggested a little trip out to the Peak District in Derbyshire - neither of us had been out of the house since Sunday so we thought we needed a change of scene.  In-between days are the best, enjoying being at home and just having time to "be", but eventually even the best of loungers can start to feel slight cabin fever looming on the horizon!  We love driving up to Derbyshire, sometimes if we just want to get out for a couple of hours we just drive up to Bakewell and back, the route is so scenic and there is always something different to see.  This time, being the festive season, the little villages were all dressed up for Christmas.  We ended up at the Peak Village retail outlet in Rowsley.  This is based on the site of an old railway station, with the old buildings preserved as shops.  The courtyard looked so pretty with all the lights...

I love how the old stations were heated with real fires, just look at those chimneys...

The snow was still laying thickly on the ground as you can see, but on the way home the temperature started to rise and rain started to fall.  This morning all the snow has melted away.

Once back home, DH cooked tea (he is an amazing cook!!) whilst I finished working on a little heart for my bestest friend Sue...

I wrote "2015" on the larger of the two buttons in permanent ink...

We always go to Sue's house on New Year's Eve to see in the New Year with her and her family, and I like to make her a New Year gift in the shape of a scented heart as a little "thank you". 

As usual, we had a lovely time, catching up with the gossip news, talking about plans for trips in the new year, nibbling on delicious treats.  When the clock struck twelve, DH cracked opened the alcohol-free bubbly.

Then we watched the firework display from London on the TV, as ever these were amazing...



image courtesy of BBC News

I would love to go to this display one year, it looks so spectacular.

Later today we are going to visit my Darling Mum to have a New Year's Day meal with her, DH and I will prepare it as she is still fairly frail after all her recent illness, but thankfully improving.

Happy New Year!

Helenxx