Last day of February and so far it has been a very busy first two months of the year.  We have had seven swimming events since the start of the year and there is an event every weekend until the end of March so March is going to be busy.  Of course I can get some more quilting done.

Quilting you say?  Yes I actually got some done.  I have been making the backing for Eldest’s quilt, I have the right amount of material just not in the right way so I have had to cut and sew pieces together.  So far I have seven pieces made and quite a few more to do and then sew them together to make the backing.  I am also hoping to get the November due quilt done this weekend as well.  Then it is the two Memory quilts which need to be done by July!!  Hopefully after that I will be able to get some Christmas gifts done and a couple of quilts which I want to make for me!!!!!!

We had a few nice days of sun over the weekend but then it has been raining again today. March can be nice but then it can also be dreadful weather, will it come in like a Lamb or a Lion this year?  Occasionally you get a clear, but very windy day which is great to get things out on the line as they dry quickly!!!  We can always hope!

The North wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow,
And what will poor robin do then, poor thing?

He’ll sit in a barn,
And keep himself warm,
And hide his head under his wing, poor thing.

The above is actually the rhyme but we always said “March winds doth blow” so when and how did that get changed?  Probably my Welsh Grandmother, the one who taught me to sew.  She had a whole collection of sayings and superstitions and would regularly tell me about them.  “Beware the Ides of March” being March 15th when Julius Caesar was murdered in the Roman Senate in 44 BC It is supposed to be bad luck, well it was for him. 

Tomorrow is Pancake Day and I will be making mixture for our lot.  They usually have a lighter dinner as they just love pancakes.  DH prefers just sugar and orange juice, Youngest likes chocolate spread on his (yuck) and Eldest and I prefer maple syrup, Treacle just likes the pancake!!!!  Wednesday of course is Ash Wednesday and then Lent.  40 Days of giving things up until Easter.  Is there anything you will be giving up for Lent?  Or trying to do something for the 40 Days?  I have a few things which I am going to try!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a great week to come. 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Treacle xxHere are some Spring Flowers!!!!

We got to the weekend after one of those weeks!! DH and Youngest are out all day today at the County Swimming Championships and I have had a lazy morning doing not a lot!  I am getting on with some quilting though!

It is amazing what a few days of sun can do in the garden, especially after all the rain we have had.  Here are a few pictures of the flowers which have come out.

Snowdrops I think are my favourite of all the spring bulbs.

White Hellebores, they have done well this year.

We also have this mauve Hellebore which has also done well.  Obviously likes the wet conditions!!!

This is the wren which came to visit the other day.  Again with the few nice days of sun it obviously brought out some insects and the wren was busy picking them off the plants.  The wren does not stay still for very long and for this one picture, I probably took five of where the wren was and then wasn’t!!!! 

Finally our thoughts and prayers are with the Ukrainian people at this time fighting for their lives, homes and livelihood because of yet again one man’s imperialistic aims!  I hope that the rest of the World will be able to help the Ukraine resist this attempt and peace comes to the country very soon.

I hope you lovely lot will have a good weekend whatever you are up to. 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Treacle xx

Over the last week and weekend we have had three storms go through Derbyshire.  Fortunately our home is on a hill so we avoid flooding and the wind was very, very, blowy but we did not have any damage thankfully.  There have been a few roofs blown off and chimney breasts come down but the flooding has been quite bad again around the village.  It is supposed to flood in these areas as they are flood plains but it has been an awful lot of water.  In fact our pond which is in an old whiskey barrel, the water is just below the top!!!

The River Derwent at Little Eaton burst its banks yesterday (© Derby Telegraph)

The weather is getting me down a little, especially as it is so dark whilst it is raining and the lights are on all day!  No wonder people suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder!! We did see the sun for about two minutes today which was so nice.  Hopefully the rain has now stopped for the rest of the week and things will start to dry up a bit.

The weekend passed in a blur of me tidying up my quilting.  I got three of my quilts repaired and some other repair jobs done.  As DH is out all weekend again this week I will be able to actually do some quilting.  I need to make the backing for Eldest’s new quilt and then send it off to be quilted.   I like to do my own quilting on my machine but this is going to be a huge job as it is a Kingsize quilt so when it is sandwiched I think it would just defeat my machine.  I also have the quilt which was due at the end of November to do and then get on with the two Memory quilts which need to be finished by July!!!  I do have quite a few other weekends where DH is busy all weekend to get on with things!!!!

Treacle, of course, has not been impressed with the weather as she really, really does not like the wet and especially being dried when she comes back in!  This was Saturday whilst I was sewing.

The above picture I took as she woke up!

And this is the look which says “you do know you have woken me up, taking yet another picture”!!!!

Treacle did enjoy the little time today that we saw the sun and we are both hoping that Spring will be on it’s way soon. 

I know I am really late with Book Club Friday but I promise I will get it done this Friday!!!  I hope you lovely lot are having a wonderful week. 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Treacle xx

Sorry for no posts last week, DH was at a business exhibition all week in the South of the country, the first in two years, and of course we have been busy filling in all the paperwork to try and sort out DH’s vehicle!!!  The wheels turn slowly unfortunately and because of the chip shortgage there are not many new vehicles coming into the country so we have been told that the next new one will be September.  DH has therefore got a large van to use until then!

Happy Belated Valentine’s Day!  Unfortunately DH and I had to attend a funeral so we were not in the mood and it was Monday!!!

We did spend the weekend catching up on some home jobs which needed doing, especially as our weather was cold and raining!!!  This weekend DH is out all weekend at a swimming event commentating and also the same the following weekend too, so I am going to use the time to get on with my quilting, especially as I probably won’t have any Boys around either. 

Jayne and I had lunch on Tuesday last week and had a great time, catching up, and it was great to see her.  Now she has retired we are aiming to do lunch once a month and hopefully when Spring arrives it will be great to be outside. 

The weather this week it is due to rain all week and it is still cold.  Treacle is very much hibernating at the moment snuggled in her basket and is not very keen to be outside especially when it is raining!! 

I hope you lovely lot are having a good week.  I will do Book Club Friday this week!! 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Treacle. 

The little Chump, Phil, saw his shadow so we have six more weeks of Winter!  Not surprising I suppose!  The weather here is cold but damp which is worse than when it is cold and frosty!! You can tell it is Wednesday!  The washing is fighting in the laundry and appears to be winning and growing by the second.

Treacle has had an eventful day she came in this morning and had to have her paws washed, which she and I were not pleased about especially as the door rug needs a wash now as well, to add to the washing fight in the laundry!!!!!

Today is Candlemas, when some Christian countries take their decorations down as the end of the Christmas celebrations and where, long ago, they took their candles to Church to get them blessed for the year. 

02.02.22

Today is one of those funny date days!  All the “2”  ‘s

Have a Great Wednesday!!! 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Treacle xx

Well we have managed to get through the first month of the year relatively unscathed.  Sorry there were no posts last week and yesterday it has been a rather stressful last week of the month!!!  So much so that by Friday I threw in the towel!!!  Anyway we are starting the new week and first week of February. It is going to be a busy one with DH out with work and also quite a few weekends swimming compering but we will get through it.

We had a fairly quiet weekend with not a lot happening, the weather was really cold and damp and none of us really wanted to set foot outside, even Treacle was happy to snooze in her basket for most of the day!

I have been trying to do some quilting each week and I did sort out my next “To Do” list.  Why is it that having made the quilts and they look great and then after a few washes there are a few running repairs which need to be made?  So I have three which need small repairs to, which I am going to get done.  I still have one quilt to sew the binding to and then the quilt which was due at the end of November to sandwich and quilt!  I then have to do the Memory Quilt.  I have decided to get Eldest’s King size quilt done on a Long Arm, rather than try and do it on my machine. 

Tomorrow is Groundhog Day!  Will the chump see his shadow or will be have an early Spring?  We will wait and see.  It would be lovely to have an early Spring this year.

I did forget, because of last week, that on January 25th it was Burn’s Night. I had Haggis, Neeps and Tatties although DH and the Boys did not, they are not fans!!!!  It also honours my lovely Dad who was Scottish, his side of the family were from Edinburgh.

My Heart’s in the Highlands

Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the north,
The birth-place of Valour, the country of Worth;
Wherever I wander, wherever I rove,
The hills of the Highlands for ever I love.

My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here;
My heart’s in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer;
A-chasing the wild-deer and following the roe,
My heart’s in the Highlands, wherever I go.

Farewell to the mountains high-cover’d with snow;
Farewell to the straths and green vallies below;
Farewell to the forests and wild-hanging woods;
Farewell to the torrents and loud-pouring floods.

Robert Burns 1789

DH & I are hoping to be back in the Highlands over Easter subject to Covid and all the other rubbish we have all had to deal with over the last two years!  I am really keeping my fingers crossed we get to go!!! 

I hope you lovely lot had a good week last week and a great one this. 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Treacle.