Verb: pootle
poo-t(u)l To move in a leisurely unhurried way,
with no real purpose


Tuesday 26 May 2015

Perfect Pootling ...

A long weekend + absolutely nothing planned + husband away for a couple of days
 = the time for some serious pootling.
Now that's the sort of sum I like !

Nothing stressful, nothing of any great significance ... just simple, perfect pootling.

No meals needing to be cooked, no mounting pile of laundry, no clearing up after anybody.

There was time for kitchen pootling when my lovely circus heart light arrived in the post
 and the right spot needed to be found for its new home.


There was gardening pootling, involving tidying of pots, a little replanting 
and making tidy the corner by the back door.


There was sitting drinking tea in the sunshine pootling,
just enjoying the warmth of the sun and the smell of the lilac.


It would seem Lilou enjoys a bit of gentle pootling too.


And then there was even time for some wedding pootling 
 - slightly more organised pootling was needed here, 


                           so a production line was set up with Beth on the sewing machine, 
                                                    Meg on turning inside out duty
                                        and me on pulling out the points and ironing duty.


A lovely afternoon passed with the sewing machine whirring away and 
wedding songs being listened to and chosen.



And several hours, many cups of tea and about 50 metres of bias binding later
  'Make Wedding Bunting ' is another thing
 to be ticked off the wedding  'to do' list.

Truly a weekend of perfect pootling.


Here's hoping your weekend was also filled with
 all the things that you wanted to do.


Monday 18 May 2015

Happy days ....

This last week has been busy, busy, busy 
with lots to squeeze in before the weekend.
 It has all been 'fun' busy though so I'm not complaining
 - it's just sometimes it would be really helpful if you could cram a couple 
of extra hours into some days !


For starters it was my turn to do the village church flowers.
I love doing these.
It's such a beautiful old church and the calm and quiet surrounds you 
the minute you walk through the door.

Next job was to hire some cake tins to make a rather special Birthday cake for my Dad.
A bit of a shindig was planned for Saturday and a cake would definitely be needed.


It has to be said that just lining the tins was a job-and-a-half but there was no way
 I was going to risk this one either getting stuck,
 or disintegrating in to a pile of crumbs when the time came to take it out of the tins.


The smell of chocolate cake that filled the house whilst it was cooking
 was truly intoxicating.
I found the recipe on the BBC Good Food website, and rich 
doesn't even begin to describe it !


A long overdue trip to the hairdressers was squeezed in mid week 
- and I can't lie - 
that bit of the week really wasn't hard work at all.
Infact, it was 2 hours of sheer heaven, 
I went for the full works and made the most of every self-indulgent minute of it.
But I did make sure it wasn't all completely me, me, me 
as I left with three goody bags for three daughters,
 to get three lots of wedding beautiful hair for August.


Cake cooked, it was time for Ganache icing and then more chocolate overloading,
well ... you're only 80 once aren't you ?


And then, a quick trot down the road to get the village hall all ready for the big surprise.


Being 1 of 4 siblings and with each of us having produced several 
more family members we total about 30 when we all get together these days
 and for the grand sum of £40.00 hiring the hall for the day seemed the perfect option.


And the best thing of all was that it was a complete surprise for Dad,
he thought Mum was taking him out for coffee at the Garden Centre !


Once back home, full of bubbles and cake, there was still plenty of time to give Lilou 
lots of extra tummy tickles and hugs as it was her Birthday too ! 
She has reached the grand age of 8, 
and since Otto arrived she has definitely taken on the role 
of 'older, much more sensible dog.'

By the time yesterday came it was really lovely to have absolutely nothing planned at all,
 other than a little bit of blocking ...


and lots of tea drinking around the kitchen table, 


where there are two beautiful reminders 
of happy days spent with family.

I hope you and yours have had just as lovely a weekend.

Sunday 10 May 2015

Border Control ....

 


From the title of this post you could easily be forgiven for thinking I was going to tell
 you all about some amazing, exotic holiday I've been on ....
well, sorry to disappoint but it's nothing quite that exciting .... 
just simply the thoughts ticking away in my head as I carry on knitting
 backwards and forwards,
backwards and forwards on my Goldilocks Wrap.
 
You see, I'm so near to finishing off the main bit now that I am literally
itching to get started on the border.
Without a doubt this is the bit I love most about any project I am working on,
from facecloth to cushion or scarf to blanket,
for me,
 it's all about the border.
 
 
Like underlining a title,
ending a sentence with a full stop or
writing The End at the end of a story,
it's the finishing off that brings it all together,
 
And I think that one of the reasons crochet has me so totally hooked
is for the sheer number of endless ways there are to add that little personal touch
 to something you have made.
 

 
Whether it's all about the contrast,
 
 
 creating a pattern within your border,
 
 
 
going with the less is more approach,
 

 
adding scallops
 
 
or shell edgings,


 
 
little picots,
 
 
zig zaggy or wavy,
 
 
whether it's ruffly ruffles

 
 
 
or bobbly bobbles,

 
 
 
 
 
or gloriously over the top pompoms,
 


 

 
the world is quite simply your oyster ..
there are no border controls at all !
It's up to you,
it's your choice,
there is no set map.
 
For me ?
Well, I guess I just cannot resist a good ruffle
 
 
 
and that's where I'm headed with the border for my Goldilocks Wrap ....
 
How about you  - have you got a favourite go to border ?
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Monday 4 May 2015

You've got to love a Bank Holiday weekend ♥

After a busy, busy week at work the Bank Holiday
weekend arrived just when it was most needed.
 
There really is a lot to be said for a three day weekend in my book.
All dull and boring chores have been done,
 shopping has been bought and packed away in the kitchen
cupboards for the week ahead,
the laundry pile is pretty much non-existent,
my wardrobe has had a very long overdue tidy up and sort out
( I managed to resist the urge to photograph this and show you ! )
and there's still been heaps of time for plenty of yarny activity
and general pootling around the house.
 
 
My Spring Garland had been carefully packed away,
 
 
and replaced with the Daisy Chain Garland I made last year.
 
 

My much loved Caravan blankets have made the short journey from
 the caravan to our Spare Room following another little sort out and the
 need to get our Caravan up and ready to go on sale.
After much thought we have decided that two large Weimeraners,
one of those still being a puppy,
a smallish caravan and the realities of the British climate
all mixed up together probably don't make
 the best ingredients for the most relaxing of holidays right now
 so time for a change. 
 


 
The up side of this though is that the blankets look just as good in my Spare room
as they did in the caravan ! Hooray !
 

There has even been time for a bit of garden love this weekend
 - not too much mind because its still been bloomin' chilly -
but enough time to have a wander and see how everything is just about ready to burst.


 
The apple blossom is having a proper little festival all
of its own out there and it's quite impossible to walk past it without
sighing happily and admiring its beauty.
 
 
And the Wisteria on the Pergola just needs a tiny bit of sun and warmth and
 it too will be showing off in all its glory.
 
Great progress has been made on the Goldilocks Wrap 
which is coming on in leaps and bounds,
 
 
and now that I have finally made up my mind on how I want it to be
 I am itching to get on and start the border,
 as I know this will be the bit that brings it all together.


So, all in all, a very pleasing weekend has been had
and just for the record, if any of the Political Parties are offering one Bank Holiday
weekend every month as part of their manifesto's they're definitely going to be
getting an X in their box from me this coming Thursday.

 
Ooh, just one last thing before I go,
I even had time to fit in a little trial of Megs wedding garland yesterday morning ...
would you like a little sneaky peek ?
 
 
I hope your weekends were all just as good,
have a great week everyone.
 ♥