I don’t know about you but you think the week is going to be just another week and then things all change again! Does that happen to you? So Youngest started his new job in February and it has not been as happy as he had hoped due to the people he was working with. Now I know that it is a case of just get on with it which he has but as there are only three of them working together and the two others have been shall we say not professional, he has been none too happy. Upshot of a long story is that he was speaking to his Mentor where he did his training and they have offered him a job with new training immediately and more money! He has therefore handed his notice in and going there next week. It is also very busy at Eldest & Partners with them helping out a relative for a few weeks, so we will be helping them out over the weekend with Little Man.
Work is busy which is great but tiring of course which we knew would happen after all the elections were finished. Of course we are trying to make sure that all the orders get delivered on time. Eldest is busy and then he was out yesterday on a long fire call so DH had to help out with work there. The weekend is going to be busy as always but with home jobs. The weather is supposed to be nice again so we are hoping to get inside and outside jobs done again! Because of the nice weather the garden is starting to come alive and that will also mean that we will need to mow the lawn too!
Miss Floof has her Spa Day on Friday and I also have a hair appointment too so we will both look better.
Last weekend we did some more decluttering and we are now getting into the swing of it. I spent a few hours shredding the old negatives, do you remember them? Well we had quite a lot and so decided the best way of getting rid of them was to shred them. We have also brought the memory boxes and stored things back from our storage unit and I will be going through them and sorting things out. I know there are some things which can go and other things just need sorting out and tidying. I was speaking to the Boys Godmother today and sadly her Dad has just passed away and they are now in the process of sorting things out at their home and for her Mom. She said it is a huge job as he never threw anything away and in fact when something went wrong he kept things like motors so they will all need to go to the scrap yard now!!! This is why I am on a mission to get our things sorted.
I should learn not to say things and then perhaps it won’t happen!!! I said last week I should be able to post every day and after Tuesday the week got away from me, like an escapee hamster!!!! Wednesday I was at Eldest’s working and that took the whole day and into the evening! Thursday was home jobs day and it took me all day to sort things out and Friday DH and I were Babysitting Little Man, I think we wore him out. You know the adage of “it takes a village…” well we were the village and in the evening Youngest & Fiancé came round and we all had dinner which was lovely.
Have been quilting still with these lovely fabrics above but I cannot show you the final quilt yet as it is not quite finished. Speaking of quilting this popped into my in-box today;
Apparently My Blog “has been selected by our Panelists as one of the Top 30 UK Quilting Blogs on the Web.”! It has made my day, especially as my Blog does not always have quilting on it, just my crazy life! The above is the badge I can use on my Blog as well. Although I am trying to do more quilting this year as well as more reading too!
The first weekend of April, DH has no swimming events this month yeah, we got some jobs done at home but also had a relaxing weekend too as we needed it after a very busy March. Next weekend the weather is supposed to be warm and sunny so I think we will try and get indoor and outdoor jobs done. Friday we are babysitting Little Man again and I have an hair appointment and Coco has her Spa day too so that will be a busy day as well.
Over the Easter break we are hoping to get Youngest’s old room painted and then be able to furnish it as our guest room. We already have “bookings” for it with Fiancé, along with Blaze & Gordon, coming to stay in July when the Boys are all away for the weekend. We also need to paint our room, but I think we will put that off until the next long weekend.
I hope you all had a lovely weekend and a good week to come.
I always think of Wednesday as being one of those funny days. We have got over Monday and Tuesday is usally getting sorted day for me and then Wednesday I am usually with Eldest but he is doing some more training for being an on-call firefighter, DH is there because of some work being carried out so there was no point in my going today, I will be going on Friday instead, so I had a “free” day! Do you ever have those days and you think I will could do a million things and then end up doing nothing? Well that was me today.
Over the last few days it has been really cold here and Coco, despite having quite a woolly coat at the moment, has been snuggling up and she did this, this morning so I did not get up as early as normal! I got a lot of our work done yesterday so only had a bit to do today. I could have done some quilting or some reading or got ahead with my home jobs but I really did not feel up to doing any of it! I think sometimes you do need to rest and not do anything so decided that would be today and I have really benefitted from it.
Tomorrow is home jobs day and grocery shopping and then I will be at Eldest’s all day Friday. Saturday I am going to get those extra home jobs done with DH’s help and then Sunday he is out all day so I can do more quilting and in between all that some reading too. I am getting on well with Jayne’s and I book club book.
I did get all my washing & ironing done the other day but of course the pile is growing again as usual. The weather tomorrow and Friday is due to be warm during the day and spring like and my daffodils are starting to flower as well as my winter violas which are looking great. I will have to get some pictures to show you.
We have just over a week to go before we put our clocks forward an hour, which I actually hate. I love having the light nights but hate losing that hour, I never seem to feel the same until the hour goes back in October!!!!
I hope you are all having a good day and middle of the week, Thursday tomorrow.
Well the old saying of March comes in like a Lamb and goes out like a Lion is coming true here in the UK. It was very mild and calm at the beginning of the month and after a quite warm weekend too, today has been very windy even though it is only the 10th day of the month. After the warm weekend today has been a shock to the system as it is cold again and we are due for freezing temperatures at night all week too!
I am still without my vehicle as Eldest has repaired his but decided that now was the right time to sell it and get a different vehicle. He no longer needs the truck as his work does not really require it and ovbviously with the growing family it would be better to get a bigger vehicle so he is going for a VW 4×4. It will mean that the children will have more room in the back with all three car seats in. He and DH are going to look at one on Saturday so he is keeping mine until then.
The weekend changed from what was planned of course and Saturday DH was helping Eldest. We saw Youngest & Fiancé Friday night and Eldest, Partner & Little Man on Saturday night and then DH was out all day yesterday at swimming. I did spend yesterday quilting and I will show you it when it is done. My Engaement ring is back and they have made a wonderful job of it. Please ignore my hand, this picture makes it look dreadful!!! My wedding ring is my Mom’s, my engagement ring is in the middle and the top one is my Eternity ring which DH gave me on our Fifth wedding anniversary which has five stones in it; two rubbies and three diamonds. We have taken two other rings in to them to get them cleaned and sorted; one was given to my Mom on her 21st Birthday and the other is my Grandmother’s ring. I have plans for those later in the year.
This week work wise it another quiet one fortunately and on Thursday DH and I are going to visit a customer in North Wales. We have known him for a lot of years and when he used to visit us when the Boys were small he used to help them with their homework whilst we were sorting out paperwork!!! I am hoping that the weather is nice.
I am having a new washing machine delivered on Friday when DH is at home. Our old one is not that old, six years, but it has been heavily used by us all and I have found that on the white wash there are black oil marks appearing and it has now ruined one of DH’s shirts! Obviously these marks could be appearing on the dark clothing but we can’t see it!! DH thinks that a bearing is going and it is throwing oil into the machine when it is washing. We looked at getting it repaired but with the call out fee, the possible price of the part, if they can fix it, and then another visit it could almost amount to the price of a new machine which of course has a three year guarantee on. SO we decided to buy a new one.
Saturday night we have the final round of the swimming league that our Club is in at the local pool which I will be helping with. Sunday DH is out all day again at the big pool for another event so I will be quilting again. This week and next Eldest is doing some more blue light training so we are keeping an eye at the garage then the following weekend I am hoping to get some home jobs done on the Saturday and then Sunday DH has another swimming event so I will get another quilting day in.
My sewing things before Eldest came home! I will have to get some pictures of the room now but it needs a good Spring Clean and does need painting too. But the set up is more or less the same.
DH did suggest that I move all my sewing things into Youngest’s room now they have gone and then set this room up as the guest room. Youngest’s room is bigger but that means more furniture needed, but I do like the smaller room as it is very cosy. We could get a double bed in here as Eldest had a king size bed but then it does not leave much room for any other furniture. So I think we will leave it as Youngest’s will be the guest room and I will have this for my sewing room. However we know that as soon as the guest room is all sorted it will actually be Coco’s room!!!
Little Miss Floof likes the chair in here anyway!! Speaking of Floof she needs a spa day but it has been and is going to be so cold I am putting it off, hoping that it will get a little warmer soon. Easter is usually when we start sorting the garden out after Winter but we are going to paint Youngest’s room so we can get that sorted. We really need to paint Eldest’s room and ours as well so perhaps we can get that all done during the Bank Holidays this year. If all goes well we may be able to get some gardening done during the Easter long weekend too.
Two pictures of Little Man. Above in Grandad’s Truck. Little Man loves buttons so he had all of Grandad’s emergency lights going!!!
If that is not a cheaky little face I don’t know what is!!!! Waiting for food at their treat dinner of McDonalds.
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a great week to come.
I know we say that the weeks fly by but so do the weekends! We all had a busy one; DH was out on Friday setting up for Saturday’s swimming competition and then out early on Saturday for the day. I spent the day doing home jobs, the washing & ironing and shopping, got to bed late and then up early again Sunday morning as they were all with us for Sunday dinner for Fiancé’s Birthday. They all went home about 4.00pm, DH cleared up and I cleaned, again, we had some tea and were shattered!
The Girls are on half term holiday this week, when all the other schools were off last week, because of the Shrove Tide Match in Ashbourne on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. A football match which runs up and down the main road of Ashbourne centre and to the outskirts and takes place over the two days. It is for those born in Ashbourne above and below the river and they are known as the Uppers and the Downers. I always have to make sure when I go to Eldest’s work I go the main road way avoiding the town centre which is completely closed off.
This week is relatively quiet, which makes a change, although DH is at another swimming event, on Sunday this time. I will be quilting again. Tomorrow Jayne and I are out for lunch which will be lovely as I have not seen her since January due to us both not being able to make it in February. I will tell you all about that afterwards.
Little Man has taken to his cot and loves it. The “sleeping bag” he is in is a great invention as it keeps their body and legs warm. I remember when Eldest was in this very cot and you used to put the blankets on him but by the morning they were in one corner and he was in the other! I put him in baby grows for quite a while to keep him warm! On the back of the cot is Little Man’s first quilt I made for him.
He also loves dinner time and is starting to use his spoon but hands are still preferred at the moment!
As you can see it has been very frosty over the last few days, although it is due to get a little warmer later this week. This is Coco’s preferred spot at the moment. This is where the Boys den used to be and we removed it and at the moment it is being called Coco’s Platform, she could run for Government!!!!!
Do you ever get to Friday and think that was one hell of a week, AGAIN! I have had one of those weeks and am really glad it is Friday, although the weekend is a busy one for DH as he is announcing at a swimming competition all day tomorrow and setting up tonight. I am hoping to start one of the quilts which needs to be done by May (!) and Sunday we have all the family here for Fiance’s Birthday which is Monday. Today I am doing home jobs, washing and ironing and tomorrow is shopping as well, so it will be a frantic weekend in some ways.
I also cannot believe that tomorrow is March 1st, where did February go to? March is going to be busy for DH with swimming events every weekend, one of which I will also be going to, but then at least I can get on with my quilts! Work has been busy too which is a good thing and I am very grateful for.
One thing I could do without at this time of year is all the Awards show! I am so tired of seeing these people strutting down red carpets, endless discussions about what they are wearing and the general “word salad” words they come out with! Needless to say I will not be watching this weekend!
This is my current book and will be reviewed for March. I have read quite a few of Edward Marston books now and love his writing. It is about the Railway Detective and his Sergeant investigating all things on the Railway in Victorian times. History and Mystery in one. My TBR shelf has now migrated to three shelves after receiving books for my Birthday, Christmas and me buying them as well but I need them all!!! I love having the ability to choose which sort of book I read next and can sit for a good fifteen, twenty minutes deciding what it will be. While I have been working I have also been listening to an audio book on my iPod (I suppose that is old fashioned now!!) but it has been amazing, listening to a book whilst working. Some people say that that is not reading but I think it is just a different way! So far I have listened to The Redemption of Althalus by David Eddings, Miss Marple’s Casebook by Agatha Christie, Bookmarked for Murder by Dan Andriacco and have just started Message Deleted by K L Slater. Although I will say that it does depend upon who is narrating it!!!
I hope you have had a good week and a great weekend to come, I am off now to do the cleaning. I have threatened to tie a duster to someone’s tail so she can help, but she is busy running around with her tennis ball!!!
I am hoping that this will be the picture everywhere soon. At the moment it is still very cold and grey here although the daffodil bulbs are growing so hopefully they will look like this soon. March 1st is the start of the Spring months but March and April here in the UK can be hard weather wise, with March’s high winds and April’s showers it doesn’t really settle down until May.
Normally March is when I begin to think about beginning the Spring Cleaning which I do over the next three months but this year It may take the rest of the year!!! I have done one cupboard in the kitchen already so that has been ticked off the list, just now need to do the rest, although I am also adding my decluttering of our home in with this. So decluttering first and then cleaning! Youngest’s room is now completely empty so that will be cleaned and then painted before we put any furniture back into the room. I may also use the room, whilst it is empty, to put the boxes in that need decluttering and then they can be put where they will be stored until needed.
The garden is looking a bit sorry for itself at the moment and needs a good tidying but there are signs of things getting better with the bulbs starting to appear, the snow drops are coming up and the lemon primulas are starting to flower too. Can’t wait till they are all in flower. This was taken last year when the den was still up, as it has been too cold and raining today to take a new picture!
In the next few months we have quite a few things coming up including Easter! DH and I will be painting Youngest’s room over the long weekend, which is four days! It will need two coats of paint as it has not been done for a while but I am sure it will look great when it is done. I thought I would include some Spring flowers to cheer everyone up. Love the colours of the primulas above and the flowers from our Business dinner three years ago, below.
Wednesday today, middle of the week yeah, almost the weekend. Hope you are having a great week.
They have gone! Youngest, Fiance and Blaze have moved into their new home. It started on Thursday with them getting the keys so cleaning was done first and then the move of all the furniture and things they have bought. By yesterday they were all set up with a few jobs left to do like finishing putting their clothes into the wardrobes.
The home is lovely with a sitting room, kitchen with a dining area, garden and garage with three bedrooms and bathroom upstairs. It is also very near to some of our friends and also next door but one to some friends of theirs.
Of course their room here is now empty and Coco has taken to playing in there with her tennis ball! We are going to paint it over the Easter break and then get furniture for it and set it up as a guest room for Youngest & Fiance or Eldest & Partner, who have also said that it can be for when Little Man can sleep over. Of course they will all be fighting over it with Coco who no doubt will also lay claim to it!!! I think I will be having a waiting list.
Of course I did not get anything else done at home over the weekend for us including the cleaning, washing & ironing. We also had a swimming event on the Saturday night, locally fortunately, but DH and I did not get home until 11.00pm! It has been one of those weekends. I am glad to be at my desk today working!
It is a fairly quiet week but next weekend is busy again with DH out on Saturday at a swimming event all day, which is the same for every weekend in March (!), and Sunday the family are all here as it is Fiance’s Birthday a week today so we are celebrating on Sunday instead.
This is where I will be spending Saturday and the other days that DH is swimming, as I have two quilts which need to be completed by May! I also have a few others which need to be completed this year too. I am sure I will find time to get them done.
I am sure that Miss Coco will be helping by keeping me company whilst I am in there and she loves my chair.
We are all getting used to it being just the three of us at home. Eldest asked me how long it has been since it was just DH and I and I said well how old are you? That is how long it has been since we have been on our own and this year it will be 30 years!!! OMG where has that gone? I will have to get used to buying food for just the two of us and also not cooking huge amounts as again just the two of us!!! I am sure I will get the hang of it although it will take a while for me to get used to it just being the two of us again.
I hope you lovely lot had a wonderful weekend, a great week to come. I am hoping to be back to blogging every day now.
With Youngest & Partner getting engaged it got me thinking about engagement rings and how personal they are. This is the new ring, below, and it is very pretty. Mine was designed by DH and has a diamond in the centre with a ruby each side of it and is set in 18ct gold band with the stone settings being white gold. It is in fact at the moment being repaired as I have broken a claw on one of the rubies and did not want to lose the stone. It is now thirty seven years old and over the years I have had it cleaned and maintained but when we took it in to the jewellers they said they could repair the claws or actually take all the stones out and re-set them completely. This worried me because obviously it would be my ring and the stones would just be re-set but I was concerned that it would look exactly the same and I was assured by the Jewellers it would.
The above ring is Meghan Markle’s when she became engaged to Prince Harry and it has been reported today that she has altered this ring for the fourth time since this original one above! Apparently she has had the band changed from the plain gold to one which is much thinner with diamonds in it and the central stone has changed from this shape to one which is now an emerald cut and apparently a few other alterations have been made, picture below.
However this is not the ring she got engaged with! Would you change your ring so much that it does not resemble the ring you were first given? I know I wouldn’t. I do know of other celebs who have kept the original engagement ring but then had others bought for them, since the marriage, which have bigger or different coloured stones. Apparently Victoria Beckham has fifteen engagement rings varying from diamonds to rubies, sapphires, emeralds and a moonstone! Nice I suppose if you can afford it but again it is not the one you got engaged with!
I will have to get some pictures of mine when it is back having been repaired. Talking of repairs a clock which was inherited by DH from his family which sits in our sitting room, is off being repaired at the moment. He took it in to the Clock makers in Ashbourne before Christmas and we have not heard anything from them since so we are hoping that it is not so bad and they can fix it! It strikes the hour and the half hour and I really miss hearing it strike during the day, it is so quiet without it.
Today is home jobs day and tomorrow I have to go to the Dentist in the morning to get a small filling! I hate going to the Dentist at the best of times and especially don’t like getting a filling but decided I should get it done as soon as! At the weekend DH is out all weekend at the County Swimming Championships so I have two whole days to begin the two quilts I need to get done for May this year! Our weather over the last few weeks has been dull and grey although we did see the sun a little bit yesterday and it has been very cold with the odd day of rain thrown in for good measure! Hey ho, hopefully Spring will soon be here.
January 13th is National Rubber Ducky Day! Who knew? Apparently it is when Rubber Ducky first appeared in Sesame Street in 1970 (below), however they were originally created by a gentleman called Peter Ganine in the 1940’s to help children who where afraid of water and especially the bath! Having had two sons, they were definitely allergic to water and would protest at having a bath every evening but they both had a rubber duck.
Little Man loves his bath and when he is ready to get in his little legs are already paddling before he even gets to the water! Below is one of the toys he got from Santa Claus because both of my Boys loved trains and they had to have the rubber ducks in as passengers, so this was a definite must have for Little Man. He also had a set for Halloween with ghosts and pumpkins in!
I remember having a rubber duck but he was not yellow he was white like the famous Aylesbury Ducks below.
Although I think the yellow ones are better!
We had, as always, a very busy weekend trying to get some jobs done and the swimming event on Saturday night which because of some things was delayed so we didn’t get home until 9.30pm! We got to see Eldest, Partner & Little man too over the weekend, so a good one all in all. This week is busy with work, everyone has seemed to come back from the Christmas Holidays raring to get on with things which is good news. This coming weekend we are free so will be able to get quite a few jobs done then.
I have been keeping up with two of my Aims so far this year, Aim 1 which was to do more reading. I am making time to try and read a little bit every day and am really enjoying that time. Aim 2 is to do more quilting and although I have not got any actual quilting done yet I have sorted out the material for the two quilts that need to be done before May and also tidied my sewing room as well. Aims 3, 4 & 5 which is the de-cluttering of our home, sorting out the garden, garage and attic will begin next weekend and will be an on-going project for the whole year. The rest of my Aims 6 to 10 are again a whole year project so I will keep you up to date how things go.
Our weather over the last week and into last weekend was extremely frosty, like the trees above and cold but this week is supposed to be a little warmer, ie just freezing not -6 like it was here in Derbyshire! It looked very pretty!
Have a wonderful week whatever you lovely lot are up to.
Hugs & Love, Susie & Coco xx
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