Holiday musings part 1

Meet some of the locals...................

top left - the welcoming committee - what a baaaa-gain
top right - help! they are going to EAT me! (this is in our awning!)
bottom left - late evening walk and vintage bus
bottom right - very proud, very gentle and very large mum with her very cute, very long legged and very whiskery-chinned babe - oooh I want one!!

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Himself gets his haversack ready, he puts in.......


Maps and GPS (need both of course)
Waterproofs - well you never know
Lunch - for all four of us
Flask and tea and milk and sugar - ditto
Water - ditto
Hats - ditto
Dog's lead
Dog's ball - for those 'lets play fetch' moments out on the hills
tissues - for noses
Coats - for all four of us again
'Bum mats' x 4 so we can sit in comfort when we munch


I get my hip pack ready, and I put in it....


Camera
two balls of wool
crochet hook (and a spare)
first aid kit
chewing gum
cell phone


errr - priorities! priorities!! 

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And to prove it - 
top left - on the road
middle left - over looking  Dufton Pike at lunch time, hot feet out of hot boots
bottom left - on the road
centre - sitting at the head of High Cup Nick, tea and crochet hook - what could be more glorious??!
top right - breakfast with crochet and coffee as blackthorn blossom is tossed gently on a warm breeze
bottom right - proof of priority packing - and yes I do crochet as I walk, I get some odd looks, mind, but I do get a lot done :) !

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Well, that was just a little taster of our delicious weekend - thank you for popping and sharing it with me....I love life....

Here's wishing you a wonderful day xxxxx

Hello

We've been away! And it was wonderful!

But, enough for now, 

the washing machine is waiting 

as is work

and school

and normality.

But,

I will share some of our wonderful weekend away with you soon, 

I promise :)

Just one of those wonderful weekends

I suppose we all measure our happiness differently, each person having their own determined zenith. These last couple of days certainly reached my standard for an all round really good weekend!

Saturday...............................

coffee in bed

breakfast in the sun

gardening all day

sandwiches on the lawn

packing a spontaneous picnic, heading for the hills

eating homity pie and flying kites in a glorious orange blue sky

watching the sun go down

lighting the fire and curling up on the settee and crocheting

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Sunday...............................

sleep in

woken with coffee

breakfast in the sun

packing sandwiches and a flask of tea

finding the dog lead and lacing on walking boots

heading for the hills

bouldering and caching

crochet on the move

Boys off to Granny and Bumpa for sleep-over

Us - a grown up meal in a pub

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Monday...............................

yawn 

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And you? Was your weekend wonderful? I truly hope so :)

Now, must stop waffling and procrastinating, with all our lovely weekend wanderings nothing sensible was done, off to do Monday mundane chores - *yay*

In which I get borderline emotional and start sounding like a minor film star who's just received their first film award...!

Last night was my turn to host our weekly knk (knit and [k]natter) group. I really enjoy our get-togethers, it's a time for nattering (most important) and we get to sample some rather delicious baking.  If we are lucky we may even get some knitting and crochet done! But last night was different, oh there was some nattering and sampling but there was a lot of sewing and concentrated silence too.

It really brought home how wonderful this group of ladies are when, as I was walking towards them I was greeted by this............................

Everyone was either making, sewing or crocheting together squares for Kyōyū kyōyū - share, 'Blankets for Japan'. I really felt an overwhelming gratitude for not only their generosity in time and patience but also gratitude to all the other bloggers and  woolly crafters who have created grannies and knitted squares which the long suffering postie brings to my front door on a daily basis. 

Each square stitched to it's neighbour represents a little bit of compassion and global care that we can share with so so many other people.

SO - (drum roll please and pass me the gold envelope)

Thank you 

 to the all ladies last night (ooh that sounds a little interesting!)

Thank you

to the postie who gives me a quizzical look 

as he passes me yet another soft and squishy parcel covered in interesting stamps

(that sounds odd too!)

Thank you 

to YOU lovely bloggers 

and 

ALL 

the lovely knittys and granny-makers out there who have contributed

***THANK     YOU***

**THANK YOU**

*THANKYOU!*

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For updates on progress and photos of the finished blankets and piles of delightful squares, just pop over to  Kyōyū kyōyū - share, and if you have time please visit the wonderful contributors page and follow the links to their blogs.

Oh, and before I forget - yes please to any more squares! **thank you** :)

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Operation Duck Watch - update

It is amazing how the sight of a mongrel duck** on a nest of eggs reduce people to a state of 'aaww' and 'aaah' with a lot of 'bless her' and 'that's lovely' but the most often repeated question is..............

'Have you given her a name yet?
Err - no.

Suggestions to date have been:

• Bill (strangely by more than one person)
• Daffy
• Ducky

Do you have any suggestions? I throw it open to you!

Nine beautifully 'duck egg' blue....errr......duck eggs 

(erhem - so that's where that particular shade of blue comes from ooOOoooh!!!)

doh

And, just a final sharing of a moment from yesterday. 

In between the showers and before having to go into work ,  the boys and I took giddy dog for a walk. When I took this picture, it really brought it home how lucky we are to live in a village with fields and farms immediately out our doorstep. 

Then my  blissfully smug feeling at our surroundings was rudely shattered when we were 'Oiyed' at by a grumpy farmer who thought we were a bunch of oikes off to terrorise his sheep and then moments later another dog decided to mug giddy dog with ensuring vicious growls and flying fur lumps - well really!! 

Ah, village life - love it....................


** Mongrel duck  is a mallard x 'something' with a white bib, our village seems to have a fair few of this particular 'unique' variety.

And...did you see it??

My front garden............what do you see?  

Weeds? Yes, weeds -  in particular those two dandelions bottom left?  

Look again....what else do you see? 

The distinct lack of colour but the beginnings of life. (That was a hint...)

See what I am trying to show you? 

Yes - well done you!! 

oh - sorry was that a no? 

Ok, more help needed.

See it now?

Need another and better visual clue?

How about this one.................

Aah, village life.

Just must remember to ask the window cleaner to leave the front of the house this week, don't want to disturb  progress! Hope I am around when they hatch, **thinks against a 24 hour vigil with camera** It's lovely to see the double take on people's faces as they walk by :)

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Me - a featured maker!

A little while ago, I've was asked by Tracy from narkeymarkey if I would like to be interviewed for her 'Feature Maker' post, wow!  Thank you Tracy! It feels really grown up :)


When, feeling rather chuffed and pleased at being asked, I told Himself about the interview for the feature maker, my dear other half muttered

..... feature MESS maker more like it....... 

Bless, trust him to get right to the nub of the matter! But, hey I don't see a mess, I see creativity!!

I just suspect he wishes a little less creativity and a little more order........