Summer holidays at Nanna's and Grancha's

We played in the local park each day, the boys using their scooters to get there.

 One day Grancha came with us, 

 We saw loads of guns at Fort Nelson, with interesting things to sit on.

 This is a real bullet, bigger than Josh

 This is the gun that fires it, all three boys were impressed with the size of it,  it was mounted on a train track. Josh read every thing he could find out about it, there were only ever 4 made, he was able to see how far it could fire on a local map. We spent a lovely day here, there is so much space to run around and they can touch most of them.

 We went into the tunnels, too dark for decent photo's, and ran around, found more guns, and then outside to the top of the walls, the views of the countryside are stunning up here, but these two did not notice.

 The past week has been perfect, it is fun to have the boys with us, so much laughter and fun, Josh wanted to join in when we were out and was a great big brother and cousin. Sammy slept over two night's, one night was planned, he did not want to go home the second night. Now the house looks a mess and is quiet, back to normal life.

Back to stitching

 I did manage to get some stitching done in the evenings,

 Logan and Sam were in bed both nights by 7pm,
 not necessarily asleep, but in bed.

 I have done loads of the filling in the center panel, just the bottom to finish. I am not happy with the yellow flower I have stitched here, I will do the other parts and if I still am unhappy, I will unpick them, the designer had all the flowers in this section blue, but I really want some yellow in here.

We spent yesterday driving, returning Logan back home to Somerset, I forgot how bad the roads can be on a Saturday, Sammy went back home to loads of cuddles with mummy and daddy, Sammy had never stayed away without Josh before.
Today I will tidy the house, later Fliss and Josh is popping over for lunch, Sammy is off to a party.
This week I am driving Fliss, Sammy and Josh to Somerset to stay with Fliss's dad for a few days, I will stay with my brother and catch up with Leanna my sister. We will be home by the weekend.
No other plans, but I will get some stitching in.
My window sill garden is thriving, my Lemon pip now has a shoot and a couple of leaves, all very small but healthy. The avocado root is now over an inch long and I can see others forming, I have loads of hope on this window sill.

Busy week

I'm on Nanna's duty this week, so the house is full of Sam's little cars, diggers, nee nar's (police cars to everyone else), and for Josh it's all Lego and Dr Who, the latter is great because I have always loved Dr Who. Josh still hides from the camera, this was taken on Monday morning, each day the toy numbers have grown.

 Josh was very interested in my window sill garden, he loved both of these. The Avocado stone now has a good root and the stone has cracked. The Lime plant is so much bigger, the leaves are healthy and large. The Lemon pip has a much bigger root, but not yet sprouting any top growth.

 My tomatoes are a disappointment this year, it's the first year I have grown them from seed, the vine and yellow tomatoes were both grown in the greenhouse and I have had limited fruits, the plants are small and are already dying off. The two 'money spinner' plants grown outside are better, but the fruits are still very green. I am having a great harvest of cucamelons, I pick a huge handful every other day, I love their taste, I also picked a cucumber and a couple of large courgettes. Any raspberries and strawberries I pick are munched by both boys.

 I have finished stitching the outer boarders from European cushion, this is not the best photo, just the centre to complete, I have decided to add another colour, and picked DMC3854, which is a sunny orange colour. Using it with the pale yellow should help to bring the center together. I can now see the finish line, and will start thinking about my next project, I hope to do a quickie and then pull out Winter Watergarden.

 

This is my 600 post, I started blogging back in 2009, each year I turn my blog into books, and today the boys and I looked through my three books, they loved seeing their photo's in a book. 2013 is almost read for printing, I just need to read through one final time, I have already started 2014, it is much easier to do a month at a time, I use a company called Blurb, which is in both UK and USA. It is very interesting to see how I and my blog have changed over the last few years.

I am home alone this evening, Kev is driving back from Somerset with Logan, for the rest of the week I will have 3 boys, we have a couple of plans, but it all depends on the weather, today we have had loads of little storms, just enough rain to keep you inside, we did manage to pop to the beach at tea time, only for 30 minutes, but enough to tire out both boys. 

The house looks like a tip, I will give it a quick clean after I have finished on here, I have boxes of toys every where. Both Purdy and Grace have been outside all day, I have left my shed open so they could shelter in there, both cats are pleased when the boys are gone home each day.

Hello Bertha

It's a wet stormy day here, we have the last remains of Hurricane Bertha, 

for our spot in southern England it is a welcome amount of rain.

 I know some parts of the UK will have flooding today, but in the driest area, this amount of rain will help our gardens. Bertha will hang around all day, and affect our weather for the next couple of days.

Back to the fun part, stitching.

European Cushion

I have done loads on this, I hope to finish the outer boarders this week. 

I still love this design it is just so pretty.

Once upon a Time, this is Fliss's project 

We have sat and stitched most days this week. The rest has helped to improve Fliss's health. I love the colours on this, it is stitched true to the design, the only colour Fliss is unsure of is the grey title at the top, the shade is used again in each section to add the month. These are colours which I would never choose to use, but it's a design I would never choose either. 

My ORT jar is looking good, I always keep my used threads, they, make the best stuffing for small projects, plus I love to see this jar on my shelf.

 This is from Jan 1st

My windowsill garden is doing well, the root on my avocado is growing, I now have the stone resting on a tripod, in water, so there is room for the roots to grow. I have another leaf on the Lime plant, and the root on my lemon pip is growing, photo's next time. I have not done much in the garden, it's that time of year where you can rest and enjoy all the work. Next week I have Josh and Sam each day, so the garden will be in use, with football and any other game little boys want to play.
I am now harvesting cucamelons, I forgot to get a photo, and as fast as I pick them they are gone, every one wants to try them, the outside bush is doing as well as the bush in the greenhouse. We love the taste and they are perfect little snacks with small tomatoes.
It's gone very dark and we have thunder, so all the lights are on inside, we are going to sort our small attic, it's a mess up there,

Going quickly

Grace is giving me another straight look, she loves resting on this rug, just inside the door on hot days. Once there are shadows about, she is outside. She spends all day in the house or garden, she does not wander at all.

End of Monday night

Last night

The stitching on this bit is simple and I can stitch quickly, without fear of miss counting. Once these sections are finished I can get back to the fun bit. 

 Fliss has started Once upon a Time, she is using the colours from the design, she is a bit further on, but I can't get a photo this morning. We both have loads of stitching time, Fliss is resting and feeling better, the stitching helps fill the time.

 The Magnolia tree is flowering again, and the garden is looking good, we had a small amount of rain last night, and it should be raining this morning, but with blue skies, I don't think we will see any more of the wet stuff.

 My pips and stones on the office window sill are doing well, the Avocado stone now has a root forming, I will have to read on the next stage at this point it is on a wet kitchen towel. I have a forth leaf on the Lime plant.

Nothing much is happening here, I am making plans for next week, I will have Josh and Sam each day and Logan will arrive on Wednesday evening, I am hoping Sam will stay over with Logan, they get on so well together. Josh loves it when Logan is around, he plays with Sam, and Josh gets time to himself.
For the rest of this week, it's sewing and chatter with Fliss. Most of the garden is up to date, so it's time to enjoy all the hard work.