February round up

On craft and garden it's another low spend month, other than the yarn for hubby's lap blanket, I've been using my own stash, in truth I've spent most of my time on the blanket. Hubby purchased plants for his front garden, I don't add his purchases to my stash list, I got only 1 small house plant and 3 bulbs in bloom.

I did get some exercise leggings, which are much nicer to wear to Pilates and a jumper, no reason for it, other than I loved the design.

It is always expensive in Feb, the car needs Tax, insurance and MOT, and this year a service, can't be helped, but we do save for it throughout the year. Our insurance was only £6 more than last year, the service and MOT was less than we had saved, and tax is only £30, so whilst expensive, not too horrendous. 

Again no food waste, with portions sizes worked out, and being able to purchase only what we need for veg and meat, hubby now produces a menu each week, so everything to working well. We are using the butchers more, he is more expensive, but we purchase only the amount we need, he cut us some lamb chunks, and trimmed most of the fat off, so paying for only what we eat, the supermarket lamb has far too much fat, which we pay for and them remove. We do portion all our supermarket meats into 'our' size packs, even trimming chicken breast, giving us another meal from the pack. 

Steps were about the same as last month, the weight still clings, I am not really trying very hard at this time, not enough excise, I should be walking twice a day, but instead I sit and craft. Pilates is making me feel better, I am starting to do a home session on a Monday, I spoke to our tutor and she suggested I do our 1st routine. Hubby has expanded his bread and cake recipes, none are bad for us, but they do add to the calories, much better than the manufactured ones, at least I am not putting any weight on. 

Life as I see it

We have not had George for a sleepover in ages, Will loves to come, but last night we had him, I picked him up early so we could play and have fun together, Purdy our cat loves him, so they play for a while, he slept in our spare bedroom as he does wake up often most nights, with both doors open we could hear him, hubby is a very light sleeper. Later today mummy is bringing Will and Molly over, we are having a family lunch, another neighbour has passed on some games and toys, George loved this keyboard.

Again these beautiful blooms, they brighten up our sitting room and make me smile every time I see them. Even Will comments on their big flowers. I do have a passion for white blooms, in the corner is my real Orchid with silk blooms, hopefully it will bloom again. 

My 3rd and final bulb has growth, 2 lovely buds, this is going to be a riot of colour, for a nice change, watching these bulbs grow so tall and bloom is a pure joy. These are super easy to grow, pop them in a pot, don't bury the bulb and let them grow, our sitting room is a cool darker room at this time of year, but they don't mind, only thing I do is as they grow towards the light, I turn them regularly so the stem stays upright. 

I asked my friend Shelia if she would make me a few small chicks to use on our Easter egg search, her crochet skills are brilliant, exactly 1 week later she gave me these, she has filled each chick with eggs and there are a couple extra in the bottom of the basket. Firstly her chicks are beautifully made, each one is safe for the children to play with, and her generosity is as always wonderful. I can't wait until I can use these, George and Molly are going to love them, we have other things for Will.

I have been working on my 2020 book, I am now into July and feeling better about the process, re-reading my words at the time with so many fears and worries, was not easy. 

I have not picked up a book this month to read, working on my blanket with such dark colours in the daytime, leaves my eyes tired at night, normally I would only work on something so dark for a couple of hours, but it's pointless finishing it in April, when the warmer weather arrives. We have noticed again how much warmer the house is, both our front windows are huge, the old ones were blown and not keeping the cold out. We always used to shut both room doors at night, now we can leave them open longer and get any daylight through the house. 

I am sorry for my moan in my last post, I am feeling better, the fence panels are booked to be replaced this Friday, fingers crossed it goes well. I have not seen my neighbour across the road, I will drive myself to sign group this Tuesday, as I will go to my daughters in the afternoon and pick Will up from school, daughter will attend a parents evening  a bit later. I am letting go of the nasty comments, there is nothing else I can do, I won't argue with anyone if I can help it. 

Spring, almost

I moved these 2 pots from the side of the garage, we could not see them, they have started their 1st blooms, sadly the frost has damaged the left hand pot, the bottom is broken, after the bulbs have all finished we will pop the pot on the garden and use it as a raised pot for as long as I can.

I love different pots on this table, I have blooms in various pots for most seasons. In these pots I have forgotten what I have planted, so it's a lovely surprise to see what grows. I did click on the tab bulbs on my blog and scrolled back to see what I had purchased. 

I put bulbs everywhere,

 these are under my triple acers. 

This raised bed by our back door has loads of hyacinths growing along the front and mixed bulbs everywhere. I transplanted a pink peony in the centre, but I can't see any growth, if I have lost it, I will purchase another. There is a fuchsia at each end, so the bed should fill with colour until next autumn. 

Buds on an important plant is our garden, mum's peony, I love to see it's shoots every year, it loves this spot in the garden, all I ever do is mulch it each October, to protect it from any harsh winter weather. This is in the middle of my side bed, between 2 yellow rose bushes. 

Not the best photo, look closely and there are loads of buds on our Magnolia tree, and in a few cases you can see pink. This tree for me is the start of the growing season, the bloom grow before the leaves, so soon we will have a beautiful pink tree. 

Our Olive tree has survived the winter so far, I say so far, as March can be a cold horrible month, we have had snow many times in March, it has thrived in this spot, I do feed it every year. 

Our weather is very mixed again, we have had lovely sunny days and now the days are grey with a bit of rain (not enough), all I can do outside is tidy the space, I did cut back some plants by half so we can see the emerging bulbs. I only have one simple job to do this spring, I want to move the 2 arches from behind the raspberries to the back of the garden, so I am not as yet itching to get outside. My greenhouse is full, I have a few pots which look dead, I will wait and hope, most plants can be replaced, but I have a geranium with variegated leaves,  which looks gone, I will be really sad if I have lost it.

It's a nothing week, I have helped daughter babysit, her hubby is away working for a couple of weeks, it's always a joy to do the bath and bedtime routine, loads of stories before hugs and kisses and sleep. 

I am getting very frustrated with a neighbour across the road, we go to sign group together and share driving, within two weeks she has been moaning about our solar light on the front of our house, it illuminates the house number, we have had it there for 3 years, now it irritates her, she lives in the back of her house, so only see's it when going up the stairs, she does not have curtains in that window. The lights are bright, but not bright enough to shine across the road and into her house, I've been out after dark to check, 4 times she has had a huge moan, and also commenting on Pauline's lights next door to us. This Tuesday she has a loud huge moan regarding some old decking planks we gave to her neighbour years ago for burning, she can see them in their garden and it's an eyesore. I have been friendly to her for years, she can be very harsh with words against other people in our sign group, which makes me very uncomfortable, I do see less of her, and this could be the problem, as others in the group don't call to see her that often. Then someone's harsh comments have hurt me, I don't even think they realise how I feel, we are also looking to get the fence replaced, so I am feeling a bit down. I will bounce back, I always do, but so many people now think it's OK to speak their minds harshly, I am a soft touch, I always see the best in everyone, giving second chances all the time,

Sorting out

 I have been swapping this desk area of mine around, I did try and pop all my plants on the metal cabinet, but it just looked too cluttered, some of my plants are back on the desk, and I feel happier how it looks, hubby is OK as they are all on my side. I purchased a cover for my chair, the seat fabric was worn, but the chair is still comfortable, so it looks good again. It's morning so my huge cup of coffee is on the desk.

This side area has changed, I have got rid of loads of bits, most of which was placed there last time we did the office, so years ago. The phone normally sat in the middle of the desk, with wires running along the back, we hardly ever use it, so it's here near the inlet socket. I do love my notice board, full of lovely bits, photo's and reminders of good times. My new plant has been put in a bigger pot and is on the shelf along with my stain glass flowers, which can't go back on the sill. 

I am still watching these buds on my Albuca Spiralis Frizzle Sizzle this plant needs loads of sunlight, it has grown so well in this spot. 

Blooms 3 and 4, both pure white with the tiny spot of green in the centre, I have put supports into their pots as they have grown so high, I love these blooms. My 3rd bulb is growing slowly, which is OK, these will las for a while. 

Friday mummy came over with George and Molly, Will was out with his friends on a play day, they visited Fort Nelson, where there is plenty of space to run around, and loads of guns. It's a super free entry venue, we have taken all our grandsons there. Loads of play time with the younger two, it's now like having twins, Molly is catching George up.

Saturday we again had George and Molly, mummy stayed home with Will, who had friends over for a play afternoon, later we took them home and had birthday cake, it was Will's 6th birthday. No big party, it's so expensive to hire hall, entertainment, and the dreaded party bags, his dinosaur cake came from Asda and was lovely, he had either dinosaurs or Minecraft gifts, he was a happy boy.

Sunday and Monday was a lazy days at home, we both needed it, having the 2 younger ones together is full on, you just don't stop, lovely sunny days, we did get out for walks and I did crochet on his lap blanket. 

Today is sign group, they are here, I also have Molly, I promised mummy I would have her on 21st as George has a eye test, and I offered to have the group meet at our house, not realising it would already be the 21st, should be fun. How quickly is this month rushing by. 

This week

 I've started stitching my embroidery wheel for January, as with loads of new projects, I'm not convinced this is right, but I am going to keep going, I want to make it full of colour, so this first section is not really enough to judge it yet. I still have loads to stitch, I am pleased with the weather section at the bottom, January started wet and ended with very cold sunny days. Sorry not the best photo's.

A second crochet pot, this one is much better, just watching a few short video's has helped, it looks much neater and the sides are all the same height. I have loads of crafts ongoing, but I hope to crochet something else and improve my skills. I will look for another simple thing to make, not another pot, as I don't use them, and no more blankets.

Monday was a day of cleaning, having Will over for 2 nights left the house messy, we did crafting on Sunday, and there were bits everywhere, no glitter as bad nanna had given away all hers,  mummy and daddy brought George and Molly with them to pick up Will, they know where all the treats are kept, Molly does not sit still, so crumbs everywhere. It's a good feeling when everywhere is clean and tidy. 

Tuesday sign group was fun, we had a sign quiz, loads of romantic song titles, it was good practice for us, we each brought some food for a special lunch. Later we had friends, 2 couples over for a meal, hubby cooked the main course, another hubby made a trifle for dessert, and the 3rd hubby supplied the wine, as he can't cook, the guys got together and planned it all, 3 surprised wives. We have used the same cards as last year, having thrown so many cards out recently, I just don't see the need to purchase any more for each other. My hubby is a romantic, and for many years I had bunches of red roses, now we don't bother, I don't need retail prompts to know he loves me. 

Wednesday was spent emptying our office space around the window, it's a huge window and space, we did the same in the spare bedroom, there was not so much stuff in that room, I cleaned all the surfaces ready for the new windows on Thursday. I managed to take up SIL's trousers, and took them back to him in the evening, whilst I sat with the children, mummy went to her archery class, she is loving it. 

Thursday was a day of crochet whilst the men replaced our windows, they were clean and shut doors all the time to stop heat escaping, we now have beautiful new windows, in both cases our vertical blinds are now both slightly too long and rest on the sills. The bedroom is worse as before we did not have a sill, so new blinds are needed, and I have chosen wooden shutters, we both chose the design, hubby was not happy at how expensive they were, but he has seen my point in having them, they are much easier to keep clean then our blinds, which attract dust. We will wait a month to order them, so we can replace some of our savings, and then wait a couple more months whilst they are made. 

My cough is now much better, it's not gone, but I am hoping it will be soon, on a cautious note, my back is aching, I have had a busy week, so I am hoping with some rest I can get it back OK. 

Crafting

Pure joy, I am loving stitching this design, I finally got to the outer red section, for the first time you can see the whole of this design, it's very simple and very pretty. I am not working on this project much, my crochet lap blanket for hubby is priority, but as always it waits for me to return to it.

  I am going to keep going, it is big, but does not look out of place here. The green thread is just spare I tacked through the fabric, waiting until I need it again. This left side is fulling up, after this design I don't have anything planed to go here

As promised my Tunisian blanker for hubby, I am not making squares as hubby wanted stripes, the gold stripes are much smaller only 14 stitches, the red and navy are 30 stitches, I will make, gold, navy, red, navy, gold, navy, red, navy, gold. I work on the navy whilst the light is good, and then I manage a bit longer on the red, I can only work on this in natural daylight, the yarn colours are just to dark.

I have drawn the designs on my wheel, my light box did not work very well as the fabric I am using is very dense, I have moved things around and still have space. I want to sew these first so I can see how the spaces looks, to decide what to fill it with. I used a fine liner pen I had, in brown, which I think will be able to stitch over. 

Most of my time was spent working on the above blanket, I've got the gold and navy band to correct length, I'm half way for the red, I am using James Brett Top Value DK, and once again with this brand I have already had one ball (red) with 2 knots in, which always annoys me, as I hate to see a join in my work. I am using just under 100grms for each wider panel, so I have purchased too much yarn. 

I have not picked a book up to read this month yet, I think I have too many crafting projects on the go, plus I have loads of badges from a neighbours son cub's pack to go on his blanket, he is now going to scouts. My SIL has given me 3 pairs of work trousers to take up, he works for F1, and they provide all the work clothes, but the trousers only come in long length.

Having said in my post 1st Feb, I had 67 hexagon flowers, I have stitched more, I wanted to use as many of the sewn hexagons as I could, now all I have left in small amounts of each design and colour, so I will make them into random colour flowers, I already have 6 left over from my sewing machine cover. I have enjoyed the hand stitching of these, just something simple to keep me busy. 

Changes

Our home is full of promise, these amaryllis are both white and both have second buds reaching a good height. My third bulb has just started to show growth, that will bring colour for a change in a few weeks. 

This cactus lives in our downstairs bathroom, it's not a warm room through the winter months, but the window does catch any sunshine, it flowers every November, so I'm please to see extra buds here, the colour is just brilliant. 

My Albuca Spiralis Frizzle Sizzle, has looked good for weeks in the sunny spot on my desk, I have two flower heads growing, I've never had these on this plant before, I have checked and they can produce large yellow -green flowers, with a strong vanilla fragrance on each spike. 

As always the office warm sunny spot is full of plants, it's always full here, which I love. Including my new plant purchased on a recent trip to a garden centre for coffee. The radiator under the desk adds heat. 

Will has had a double sleep over, mummy came over on Friday with all 3 children, we had lunch out at our local bistro, and then Will stayed when mummy went home, Saturday was a very early start, with a lazy morning inside and out in the garden after lunch. Today was another early start, we will pop him home later this morning, so he can have some time with daddy, Will did suggest he sleep a 3rd night, but I think I need a later start to the morning tomorrow. He helped plant up pots with Grancha, this one is for the front garden.

I do have a problem looming in my office, our new windows are being fitted on 16th, that's not the issue, once they have been installed, we are going to have wooden shutters fitted to both front windows, much easier to control sunlight entering the room and very much easier to keep clean. The issue I will have is there will be no room to pop plants on the window sill, as you can see, it's a good spot for plants. I am going to have to rethink all my houseplants, which thrive here in our sunny office, I can't spread them out as hubby is not a fan of plants inside, I have to clear all the office space close to the windows, so I will have to get clever when popping everything back. 

Again nothing much has happened, we have an issue with hubby's new leather chair, the dye from his jeans is marking the leather, something which has never happened before, we have had loads of leather furniture. A man came cleaned the leather and basically told him he needs to cover the chair when wearing his jeans or simply stop wearing jeans, the lady from the shop called later and said the same thing, we are both livid, but looking online, there is nothing we can do. 

Thank you so much for your comments on my last post, it's good to hear so many of your feel the same way about bloggers and their post, here is our real, unperfect world, we live full lives and support each other along the way, your comments were very much appreciated, we all love to see a comment after our post.  

Blog Anniversary

 Today I am starting my 15th year as a blogger, my 1st, very simple post was here, it was a dull wet February day, and my eldest daughter helped me on my blogging trip. So much has changed, we moved from a town house to a bungalow in a local village, we both have retired and changed our lives. We had 1 young grandson Josh, who is 18 years old this year, we now have 8 grandsons and 1 grand daughter.

I have published 10 books of 11 years of blogging, my 1st book was 2009 and 2010 together, these are just for me, I love pulling them out and looking back, having a narrative with the photo's allows more memories to come back. I can check on how our home and garden became what it is today. This post gives more information as well. I am struggling with editing 2020, so much happened in that year, I would love to get on and publish, 2020, 21, 22.

My crafting has changed, but not my love of cross stich and sewing, in my December post my spending chart was shown, and this showed which crafts were flourishing and which crafts had been lapsed over the years. Cross stitching is much lower, I have a huge stash of silks and fabrics, I hardly ever need to purchase more, if I don't have the correct colour, I can always find a close match. Glass and cardmaking are no longer made, I have sold all the glass making stuff, I have kept my card and cardmaking equipment, I'm sure the grandchildren will get loads of use as they get older. 

What none of the above shows, is my love of reading your blogs, there is such an array of social media, many bloggers have simply disappeared, which is a shame, I love Instagram, but I don't use any other platforms, Blogger has everything I want and need. Most mornings I start my day sat at my desktop, catching up with your lives from around the world, many of you on small holdings, a life I would have loved (sadly my hubby's nightmare), always with a huge mug of fresh coffee. 

I have changed, it would be strange not to change in 14 years, slowing down your life as you get older is normal, wanting to remove waste and consumer led lives, living simple healthy together is our goal, it's working we both feel much better. So much in our world is now fake, media showing these beautiful lives lived, often photo's are altered to perfection, why?  I am so glad we are not young in this world, I love the real world here in blog land. Hopefully I will be able to continue for years to come, writing and reading blogs, but it still amazes me that you like to read the stuff I write, I'm just a mid aged (not admitting to anything else) woman with a simple life and opinions, and nothing outstanding. 

Mix it up

 I have stopped looking for a box for the centre section of my new bedroom unit, I have fabric and considered making a box, BUT, if I have another box I will simply full it, so hubby put a shelf in, originally the space had 4 sections for shoe storage, our wedding album in the lower section, and for now this circular crochet basket can stay here, my eldest daughter made it for me years ago., it's really special to me. The cards are all in separate clear bags, all the grandchildren's card are together in family bags, which can be passed back in years to come, if they want them.

Hubby got me a resin robin and popped it on my fork handle in the garden, I can see him from the sitting room, I am really pleased with it. The wooden part of the handle had rotted so hubby replaced that as well. I am so lucky to have a kind hubby, he read my comment about the real robins not using the perch. 

More focaccia, hubby made 2 as mine has feta cheese and olives in, both have rosemary, garlic and sundried tomatoes, we ate some warm for lunch. Next time we will mix the ingredients in the dough before the second proving, instead of poking them in on top. Each time he makes these they get better, they last about 3 days, we warm them in the microwave before eating.  

I was overjoyed to see this on my social media feed, like so many I loved the book and to know there is a film made, with great British actors, I can't wait to go and see it, hubby is also wanting to watch it as well, he read and loved the book. Sadly we have to wait until the end of April. 

It's been a positive few days, again we have not done much, and almost everything pleasing me is just small simple things, why did it take so long to realise less gives you a much better life. 

Sunday afternoon I enjoyed time with Will, I got the logistics all wrong, Molly and George went to the party, Will stayed with me, I went early so I still got time with the little ones. We watched TV in evening, Pottery throw down, which we both love, and then Happy Valley, we always watch Call the Midwife on iPlayer on Monday evening. We watched Happy Valley from the first episode, and have enjoyed the gritty lives up north, the final episode was better then hoped, very different and thought provoking, everything we guessed was wrong, brilliant writing. 

Monday we went to town early, my car was due it's MOT, so we booked it with a service (MOT is free with the service), it's been a couple of years since it had a service, we did pop back home on the bus, I went back for the car later, the bus journeys are always free for us. Car passed the MOT, had to get a new battery, which we knew as it was a bit hesitant on starting, and wheel balance, cost less than we had budgeted, so both happy, I love my little car. 

Today sign group are meeting at a local garden centre for coffee, hubby is coming with me, will be nice to be out and have time to chat, I will be looking for strawberry plants, I need 10 plants for my new bigger tower, probably too early, but I will look. 

New plans

I have been using my handmade Tunisian crochet lap blanket on cold evenings, I made it the perfect size for me, hubby asked if I could make him a warmer lap blanket, so we popped to our local haberdashery in the village. He chose the colours of red and navy, the colours of the Welsh Guard flag, I suggested to add the gold to help break up the dark colours, I won't be adding the badge. I checked the video to remind myself how to cast on and add colours, I am making a good start, photo's soon, when It gets interesting to look at.

I have had another attempt at a crochet basket, I have managed the flat circular bottom, and I am happy with the height, but the join at each row end is poor, the basket side has been pushed up and with my finishing off, its looking wrong. I have been online (where else) and have found 3 short videos, 1 to help with the shape of the bottom, 1 to sort the end of each row and the 3rd to finish off with less bulk. It's a step forward for me. 

I am struggling with my embroidery calendar wheel for January, we did not do much, so I'm having to think of what to fill the space with, it will be simple things, because other than going to the cinema, we have not been out much. I will add 2 cats and 3 hard prints for our grandchildren's visits, I hope other months will be more interesting. I have rubbed out loads, I am not arty, so the sketching is difficult for me, I need to keep things simple. I will give myself another week to fill this segment, and then 2 weeks to sew it. 

 This design is easier to stitch, so it's quickly growing, I have still not reached the outer edge, which will be stitched in bright red, it reminds me of the doodles I did on my school work books, mine were always done with black biro. I have not decided how much of this design I will stitch, I probably won't do the whole pattern as it's a bit big, but I do want to see the red section.

We had our boiler serviced on Friday morning, so we were up early as the engineer could call between 8ap and 6pm, he arrived just before 10am, we always have to move our fridge freezer, hubby has some wheels we pop under and roll it forward, it also gave me a chance to clean behind, it was not too bad. The boiler passed with out any problems as expected, it's only a couple of years old, but the engineer was wearing shorts, in February, shakes head in disbelief. 

Saturday went by in a flash, I have made a good start on the crochet blanket for hubby, for a while I am going to have less time for cross stitch, I would like to get the blanket done, it's going to take alot of work, mainly in the daylight. On a positive note the Tunisian crochet, is made without turning the work, you pick up stitches along the first row and then decrease on the second row, so as the blanket gets bigger I won't struggle with the weight. 

Later today I will pop and sit with George and Molly, Will has a party and the younger two are not invited, daddy is working, so I'm on happy duty. It's a bright blue sunny day here along the south coast, cold but beautiful. 

Waking up

My hellebores are looking good, 2 have flowers, the 3rd older plant is still only buds. The lighter ones are at each end of the raspberry bed, I hope they will grow and fill the corners. The dark red one is in a huge tub outside the greenhouse, so all can be seen from our sitting room. 

My garden is very untidy, I won't cut anything back until warmer weather, probably some time in March, there is new growth around the garden, a few snowdrops here and there, they don't do well in our heavy clay, but I keep planting them. The fork handle I put here for robins to sit on, sadly I have never seen one on it, the fork was my mum's, the handle broke and was replaced, but we kept the top bit. 

My Alliums normally have their leaves all year, but the very cold weather killed all the leaves last month and I was worried, lovely new growth. I also have buds on my Peony, so happy to see things returning. 

These pots are back on the metal table, the back pot is not so productive, I have everything crossed it catches the other pots. By the garage door are more pots with spring bulbs in, so plenty of colour to come. 

It is still too early for gardening, which is a shame as I am itching to get outside, the sunny blue skies are great until you step outside, the wind has a bitter chill, and with a cold spell predicted for next week, I sit inside watch and wait. I am pleased with the garden, I don't think I have lost much after the very cold spell we had. The greenhouse is a different matter, I try not to go inside, opening the door lets any warmth out, I water my plants in there less often in the cold months, I can see 2 maybe 3 plants which look fatally damaged.  Again I won't really know until warmer weather arrives and I can see if the plant makes a come back. 

Nothing much is happening here, we have used our new butchers, we were able to get just the weight we wanted and the quality was good, it does look promising, dad is the butcher, son is a chef, a good mixture to make the business work. We have been to Asda, there were a few items needed which we don't get at Lidl's, I also got some gym wear, for my Pilates class, daughter said their clothes was good for excise, they also had their 'Free from' range of Easter bits, we got a few things for Molly and George for the Easter egg hunt at our house, both are dairy free. 

Daughter has joined an Archery group, she is doing her intense starter course, so I am on standby Wednesday and Friday evenings, if daddy is not home from work, I will pop over and look after the children, there are 7 sessions, so I have nothing much planned for the coming Wednesdays and Fridays. 

Flowers

Spring has arrived, not really, I packed away my poinsettia, it felt a bit out of place, I have mixed my new tulips with the 2 old bunches, the vase now looks full, I do like the colours together. These will stay out until early April, seeing them every day does not take away from their beauty, just saves me loads of money on cut flowers. They look very real. I love my white Amaryllis, note the 2nd bud growing, this one is called Wedding Dance. 

What to do with my hexagons, I have made 67 flowers, I have enough sewn hexagons to make a few more. I love each flower is the same outer designs, I have mixed the inner designs, they look tidy, and I do love things to look tidy. BUT I have no idea what to make with them, for now the sit in a pile on my box on the shelf, any suggestions?

I have started my next design, I love this simple but effective design, the colours make it sing, at one point I thought I was not going to be able to add it, I had lost the pattern. It was out of print so I could not order it again, I searched all through my computer, not there. I then went to Pintrest and found a copy, normally I would not take a designers work, but I had already paid for it many years ago. I could only find this one section, I can work from it, it will tumble around the box, and yes you can see an unpicked area, the 1 stitch out syndrome. 

It's been a really quiet week, nothing much has happened, we have not been out much other than for walks, I have been crafting, and sorting, hubby has been baking, breads and a marmalade cake. Hubby is bored, but most of the jobs needs the nicer weather so he like me waits for spring. We have had some 'quotes' for blinds for the 2 front windows, once we have our new windows, then we can get measured and order some, I would like to wooden internal shutters, which are hugely expensive, hubby not keen on the price. Our new windows should be in by end of the month, so I have a few weeks to wear him down, this will be the last of home improvements for this year. 

On a brighter note, our village butchers has retired, we did not use him much as his meat was not good quality and expensive, a father and son have taken over the business, they have cleaned and organised the premises, we have not shopped there yet, still using meat from the freezer, we will use them if prices and quality are right for us. We are still hoping we can have a new baker take over the old bakery, which with the new butcher would keep the heart of the village strong. 

So it's February, how did that happen, January normally drags as a long dull month, this year in our house it whizzed by, is that the precedent for this year, I hope not.