I found this cute little rocking horse in a local charity shop, I still have another layer or two of pain to go before I sand it slightly and then add some beeswax to give it a nicer finish, but I’m really pleased with the colour. It was a ‘bright’ pine colour with eyes and a permenant marker smile, not quite sure if I will add anything to it or not yet.
Don’t forget to take a look over at handmade Monday for some fab blog links
I’ve come accross some really inspirational outdoor play areas through pinterest lately and I’ve been inspired to make an outside area for little ‘T’ to play in, first of all we’ll have to wait for the runner beans to go over as that’s the area we will use. I have an old Loyd Loom bedside cabinet which I hope to convert into a mini ‘cooker’, I’m going to do some more hunting in charity shops for shapes and baskets and other containers, Grandma has kindly donated some tin pots for sorting and storing, and ‘T’ and I went out yesterday to collect some supplies in nearby woodland.
The aim was to find lots of different things to bring home with us, the she enjoyed the task of looking for sticks and then proudly carrying them to the bag so much that we didn’t get anything else, a nearby combine harvester was on the move and the noise kept grabbing her attention so she was pleased when we found it (apparantly it was a tracrot and not a combine harvester!).
We’ve had quite a busy weekend so far. Yesterday morning I went out for a lovely run in the sunshine, I ran just over 5 miles and I was hoping to go further only the soles of my feet were begining to blister whilst I get used to this ‘barefoot’ running.
The rest of our Saturday included the usual daily chores, washing, cooking, hoovering, I cut my husbands hair, a trip to the shops and I made a braised lamb shank for Saturday night’s dinner. Unfortunately I picked up the saucepan after it had been in the oven for 3 hours, I did that last time too, I think I need to get a casserole dish instead as dinner didn’t taste so good with a hand so sore!
Little ‘T’ has been really suffering with her big teeth coming in these last few days so it’s been a bit harder to keep her entertained, but a walk through some lovely gardens and a picnic helped to cheer her up. She loved leading the way through the narrow paths, sometimes stopping to smell a flower:
I’ve also made another felt tomato as it has been a little while since I made anything crafty!:
Don’t forget to head over to have a nosey at all of the other blogs at ‘handmade monday’!
Now we’re off to the beach this afternoon……….
We found a bettle in the bathroom this morning………….an ‘Alexander beetle’.
‘T’ didn’t want to hold it but enjoyed looking at it for long time, and looked for it later on in the day when it had gone. It reminded me of one of my favourite books that I had as a child and that I have now passed on to ‘T’:
The poem in it about Alexander beetle goes like this:
Forgiven
I found a little beetle; so that Beetle was his name,
And I called him Alexander and he answered just the same.
I put him in a match-box, and I kept him all the day …
And Nanny let my beetle out –
Yes, Nanny let my beetle out –
She went and let my beetle out –
And Beetle ran away.
She said she didn’t mean it, and I never said she did,
She said she wanted matches and she just took off the lid,
She said that she was sorry, but it’s difficult to catch
An excited sort of beetle you’ve mistaken for a match.
She said that she was sorry, and I really mustn’t mind,
As there’s lots and lots of beetles which she’s certain we could find,
If we looked about the garden for the holes where beetles hid –
And we’d get another match-box and write BEETLE on the lid.
We went to all the places which a beetle might be near,
And we made the sort of noises which a beetle likes to hear,
And I saw a kind of something, and I gave a sort of shout:
“A beetle-house and Alexander Beetle coming out!”
It was Alexander Beetle I’m as certain as can be,
And he had a sort of look as if he thought it must be Me,
And he had a sort of look as if he thought he ought to say:
“I’m very very sorry that I tried to run away.”
And Nanny’s very sorry too for you-know-what-she-did,
And she’s writing ALEXANDER very blackly on the lid,
So Nan and Me are friends, because it’s difficult to catch
An excited Alexander you’ve mistaken for a match.
By A.A.Milne
I think it will be perfect for bedtime tonight! x
After about 3 weeks of reading reviews and learning about the concept of barefoot running I have finally had my first pair delivered today, and OH they are fab! It’s very rare that I buy anything that isn’t from ebay or a charity shop so to buy a pair of shoes this expensive is a very rare occasion for me!
I’ve recently signed up to take part in the ‘Great South Run’ in October to help raise money for MS – my Father in Law has been diagnosed with MS since he was 24 and his partner is also affected by it so it’s a charity very close to home. I have been on a few 6 mile runs and I’ve recently been suffering from blisters, then thanks to Pinterest I came accross the wonders of Vibram Five Fingers and just had to get some!
I went for a 5km run as soon as I got them – it was probably too far as I think you’re supposed to ease yourself in very gradually but I’m nervous about letting my fitness level go down so decided on 5km! They really are absolutely amazing to run in! I was surprised at how super-comfirtable they are – I have read up on loads of reviews stating how they helped with back/knee/joint problems and I can totally understand why – it really does feel as though you are running barefoot so it feels like more hard work – though at the same time it feels ‘easier’ and you feel more ‘free’ – other reviews also report that they make you feel ‘more intune’ with your body and I totally agree (without sounding too strange!).
The Vibrams make you feel like you are barefoot so you don;t tend to stomp down so hard on your heel but run on the ball of your foot instead – it took a few km to get used to the different way of running and I’m sure it will take many more km to perfect it but I feel as though I know how to run better in them now – I felt every muscle in every part of my whole leg and bum working! I’m so pleased with them and I also hope that they’ll help with my posture as I suffer from bad neck and back pain…….fingers crossed!
Anyway, I’ll stop raving about them now – my husband has quoted that I could work for them and sell them with the amount I have raved about them recently! If in doubt……………get some!!! (I purchased mine from here and the customer service was fantastic – plus they were delivered in under 20 hours!)
If you’d like to help me on my way to raising money for this fantastic cause then please click here
Every week I take little ‘T’ for her swimming lessons. The lessons are absolutely fantastic and she has gone since she was 5 months old. The lessons are really well structured and (with a bit of help) she can swim through hoops underwater, jump in from the side, hold on to the bar at the side, she’s learning to swim completley unaided and can swim along with a ‘woggle’. As well as the learning, we sing lots of songs and play games, plus for several months we have been learning how to do emergency life-saving – in case she were to fall into water somewhere, plus we are lucky enough to have an absolutely fantastic swimming teacher called Natalie who fills us parents with lots of confidence and makes the lessons lots of fun too.
Today we had a ‘splashathon’ – all of the babies had to dress up as pirates and we did various circuits and challenges for them, they all enjoyed it and managed to raise some money to0 for Tommy’s – a charity helping premature babies. If anyone is considering signing up for Water Babies then I highly recommend it!
Some photos of the garden this morning – I’m a bit worried that the slugs will munch the peppers before they grow big enough, all the same – it’s nice to see them growing! The runner beans are doing well, and our dinner last night included some of the lovely French beans that my Mum picked yesterday from her garden. On a really good note, we have founs some little frogs alive at the bottome of the garden in the make-shift pond – very pleased about that as we thought that they had all died! Now a bit of sunshine would be nice…………..!
My very good friend made a batch of mini-pizzas for her little one and I was inspired to do the same. Unfortunately our bread-maker isn’t quite so good so I had to make the dough by hand but it has been quite a few months since I last made some so made a nice change. I used a Jamie Oliver recipe for pizza dough – simply because I have used it several times in the past and it has always worked out well – the link can be found hereTopped with a home-made tomato sauce, grated cheese, and basil from the garden and popped in the freezer for quick and easy lunches and dinners, I’ll top them with extras depending on what’s in the fridge at the time before cooking them in the oven. They are a BIG hit with’T’!
Oh – and don;t forget to pop over and have a look at the fab blogs at ‘Handmade Monday!’ – I need to finish some of the projects I have started soon!…………
They are a big hit with little ‘T’!
I was talking with my friend last week about thie blog and about the daily things I do and she pointed out how the blog can make everything seem so happy and positive, which of course isn’t true all the time, so I thought I’d share some of the things that have gone wrong lately:
Anyway, I think that’s about enough, not very cheery writing all that but wanted to share some of the daily grinds in our house at the moment to keep this place ‘real’! Right, more washing up to do, a quick sweep of the floor and then cook dinner for my husband and step-son now that ‘T’ is tucked up in bed!
It’s nice to stop and appreciate the simple things in life. Last night the sunshine was streaming through the window whilst we relaxed on the sofa. It’s a bit too chilly to be outside in the garden at the moment in the evenings, but nice to enjoy the sunshine inside!
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