Sunshine at the castle

I did manage to get some more of my Santa done

I am on a mission now, I have found another heart to stitch.

The link for Pintrest is here for pattern

 Fliss is a slower stitcher and does not have as much time as me. 

She has knitting on the go as well.

 Josh and Sam on the way to Portchester Castle for football and fun.

 Sam did not stop riding his bike, I think he is pleased to have his 1st bike, we did have to come off the grass so he could cycle on the paths, but mummy (Fliss) and Grancha played football with Josh. The castle grounds got busy as we were leaving, it was a nice warm sunny day yesterday.

 Back home Sam stayed outside, he was very quick to master his bike, riding standing up, bumping up and down from the decking, I remember Josh on this bike with the same big grin. He even rode to the park and kept his hat on whilst on the swings.

Lowspend/nospend September, I spent nothing yesterday, I did want a pot for my Lemon  plant, but found one in my shed, normally we would have gone to the garden centre and spent loads. Today I aim to buy just one thing some bean shoots and noodles for a stir fry tonight, I also have my annual hospital check up, so there will be a car park cost.
So far in September I have spent £155.38, which includes almost £50 on vets, so just over £100 on food, more than I hoped, but alot less than my normal spend.
I watched Doctor Who, 'Listen' last night, is it just me or has Peter Capaldi turned the Doctor into some one strange, I loved both David Tennant and Matt Smith, Matt Smith being my favourite Doctor ever!

All made up

I did manage to make this cushion up

 I love the fabric with the tree, but I have a small dirty mark above the stitching, I will have to sort it out. This is the total sum of getting my sewing machine out yesterday, I had a friend pop in for most of the afternoon.

 Daughter Fliss has made me this sewing roll.

 It is a great size and nicely padded to hold my scissors, I must admit it would make a great makeup holder. I will have to see which contents fit better, either way, I love the colours, what a real nice gift.

 Fliss's progress with 'Once upon a Time', she does not have as much stitching time as me, but it's looking good, she is still using the published colours.

 Today, Fliss came around with Josh and Sam, so the house gave way to loads of toys, Sam loves his road mat and all the cars, Josh had loads of Lego, Star wars and Harry Potter. Fliss did manage to stitch, but I resisted, I find it far to easy to miscount on Winter Watergarden.

 Hubby brought home these roses for me, I had a big problem last night with our mortgage insurance, and managed to get it sorted this morning. It was pleasing to hear them say it was their error and they will put it right. I even had an apology from them for the stress their letter caused us.

We did manage to pop to the park this afternoon, Sam and Josh ran about and played together, when the sun did show itself it was really warm, and we managed to get back home before the rain. The garden is looking good, the weekend rain (which equalled a month's rain for us) has helped every where, our lawn is now back to green.
We also had fun with Grancha, he was challenged with the ice bucket, and we had to throw iced water over him, and he then donated £3 to Macmillan, the boys thought it was great fun, I now have every thing crossed I am not nominated, you can pay the fine of £10 if you don't want to get wet.
I am tired tonight, so no stitching, but I have left my sewing machine out, and will try and finish a few more items, I do fancy doing some sewing.
Tomorrow we are out to lunch at HMS Nelson ward room it a a beautiful setting for a lunch. This is the last get together for Sea Cadets, so it will be a sad day as well.

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,