Little things that made me smile

A few things have made me happy recently, so I thought I'd blog them before I forgot them. That's what I love about blogging, it makes it really easy to record everyday moments that would normally be forgotten. So here I go on my little trip down memory lane, coming?

My african violet (in the cloakroom) is in full bloom.



Our very lovely next door neighbour couldn't resist the Little Bo Peep outfit for Little Miss when she saw it in a sale. She also knitted her the gorgeous cardigan.



Little Man was asked to carry the flag for his Beaver pack in the parade...



...and Little Miss and her friend watched their brothers proudly!



We're all off camping soon, so the cobwebs are going to gather for a while, but I'll be back to sweep them aside soon enough! See you soon.

Growing my own Pimms...

It has been a while since I updated my blog. I was doing so well in April, then life happened and my blogging went out of the window. But I have some great excuses:
I had to make my hat for our friend's 40th birthday medieval banquet (my brother and his girlfriend looked after Little Man and Little Miss ALL night!). We stayed up past 1:00 am for the first time in years!
I have the photos to make a hat tutorial, but I'm not sure there's much demand for pointy princess hats!
My blanket has been making ever slower progress (largely due to there being too much work and not enough people at work!), here it is just in case you don't believe me:

Then as my Darling Man started his usual spring seed planting frenzy, I thought I might join him. As he planted tomatoes and carrots, I thought growing the ingredients for Pimms might be more interesting. I started with Borage seeds (the flowers go in the drink), and they're doing well:

My Mint is looking less promising:

I wonder if my Parsley, which is doing far better, could act as a substitute? ;)

Maybe not!
I was going to try cucumber but, after the experience of courgette overload one year, I thought better of it! I'll post a picture of the Pimms later in the summer - promise.
It's been lovely catching up with everyone else again. I'd better plunge back into the rat race again now, there's ironing, shoe polishing and packed lunches to do before I go back to work tomorrow - no rest for the wicked!

Slippers for Little Miss

For anyone wondering what has happened to my Twenty Minuter pledge, I just wanted to reassure you that I am still minuting away. I have to say that sometimes the twenty minutes are being gathered up into one big session every so often at the moment, as work has gone completely manic and I've been bringing shed loads (literally!) home. It is all very creative, but when there's just too much I run out of steam and things get a bit hum drum!

Anyway enough of my woes, I have been beavering away with my hook recently. My granny square pile is growing (very slowly!), and I've made little slippers for Little Miss!

You may remember the slippers in my virtual giveaway here. I fell for them and had to have them, but I also wanted instant results! As much as I would like to think I have small little feet, Little Miss's are just that bit more manageable when it comes to crochet slippers! So here they are:



Tada! I had to adapt the pattern quite a bit. Then I decided I wanted to add a flower so I found this really easy pattern here. I'm really pleased with them and Little Miss calls them her ballet shoes, so everyone's happy!

Tea for Eight

I love tea. This sort:
and this sort:The picture above is the left overs, I wasn't quick enough to get a picture of the whole spread!

So this afternoon was lovely for me. We invited friends and their two children over for afternoon tea. I made banana bread (the recipe's here), almond macaroons, scones (of course!), cucumber sandwiches and sausage rolls. It was all so easy, I had plenty of time to get things ready, everything was prepared in advance and the children ate without a fuss. Everyone had a very relaxing time, perfect!