Yearending

31 December 2012

The year is drawing to a close, as it closes I reflect on what has passed.  This has been a year of change and growth.

I started this blog and connected with a whole new and wonderful community.  Thank you to all of you who visit my blog.

My children have grown and changed so much this year.  My eldest has such confidence now which has warmed by heart and made his journey so much easier.  He is so like me it makes my heart ache at times when I can feel his pain.  My youngest is starting to move away from me and find her own place in the world.  I always find this stage the hardest I want to hold onto to them just a little longer.

We have made new friends this year and made stronger connections with old ones.  It has been wonderful to spend time with like minded people who welcome me into their homes and provide me with wonderful food.

The future is a new journey and I hope it continues to bring us happiness joy and hope for you too.

Gratitudes

30 December 2012

I am joining in with Taryn for her heartfelt Sunday tradition.

A time to slow down, to reflect, to be grateful.

This week I have been grateful for...

...my husband driving us safely to visit family.

...all the lovely food that I have had cooked for me and my family this week, it is a wonderful rest for me not having to think about and prepare a meal.

...the lovely presents we have all received from family and friends.

...the joy in my children's when opening presents I had made for them.

...family appreciating that we prefer just one small gift as a present.

...more time to spend with my children enjoying their company

...time spent with my extended family.

...a rare break in the rain in enjoy a short walk.

Socks

29 December 2012


I have been absent from here this week as I have been knitting.  Progress is happening, pair four are finished and the ball of wool is now one completed sock with a second one half knitted. I am unlikely to have all the socks knitted up by New Years Eve but I have knitted far more than I expected to in a week.  I am probably going to have to give one friend one sock and post on the other!

Gratitudes

23 December 2012

I am joining in with Taryn for her heartfelt Sunday tradition.

A time to slow down, to reflect, to be grateful.

This week I have been grateful for...

...knowing that I will not have to shop again for two weeks as we are visiting family for Christmas.

...a break in the rain and a wonderful walk through the village with my youngest

...heartwarming soup cooked for me so many times by lovely friends.

...fun, craft activities arranged for my children by lovely friends.

...time to finish off handmade Christmas presents.

...my lovely husband for driving us safely to visit family.

Weekending

This week has been one of busyness and getting lots done, sometimes it didn't feel very efficient!

We started the week with our usual trip into town for shopping and visit to the library.  This was our last shopping trip before Christmas so I needed to make sure I remember everything we needed.  The town is eleven miles away so it is expensive if we forget to get what we need.  We are going away for Christmas this year so we only needed food to last the week.

Tuesday we were expecting to meet our usual play date friends for wreath making but they were unwell and cancelled.  So we used our time at home to post the last few Christmas cards and hand deliver those for friends in the village luckily for us this was the driest day all week.  I also continued with my Christmas making in between reading books, painting and drawing with the children.

Wednesday we joined our play date friends for lunch of soup afterwards we cut out, cooked and decorated biscuits.  I found a few Christmassy biscuit cutters which we used.  The children thought it was great fun, my eldest who is not usually keen on this sort of activity asked to do it again!

On Thursday we travelled south through horrendous wind and rain to join our friends who we have not seen for a while.  It was lovely to catch up with them again and they also provided us with a lovely warming soup for lunch very welcome after the cold outside.  After lunch we made snowflakes  using old CDs.  We folded the paper and cut them and then stuck lots of glittery things to them, they looked great.  In the evening we join friends for drinks and nibbles it was a lovely end to a busy day and good to catch up with some friends who we had not seen for a while.

Friday we went swimming in the morning and then joined friends nearby for a lunch of soup, I have realised that I have done quite well for lunches out this week!  We stayed for a wee while before heading home.  The rest of the afternoon was spent with more Christmas making.

Over the weekend, Saturday was spent frantically knitting a sock whilst my husband was out in the morning, finishing off the last bit of sewing and wrapping all the presents.  I needed a rest after all that before cooking tea!  Sunday saw us heading off to stay with family for Christmas and then friends for New Year.

I hope you are all finished or near finished with your Christmas preparation, wishing you all a restful calm time.

Doubt

22 December 2012

At some point in the summer I thought how lovely it would be if I could make most of the Christmas presents that we give to others.  I knew that if I was to achieve this I would need to start straight away.  So I started to come up with ideas of what I could make and for whom.  The pace was slow to start of with, probably because I thought I had months and weeks to compete my making.  About four weeks ago I realised I still had a fair bit left to make and not that much time.  I was beginning to wonder if I was going to have to do some extra shopping, but the thought of heading out to the shops with hundreds of others spurred me on.

I have made five bags for children to put their pajamas and a bedtime book in.


A honey cowl, a button cowl, a hat, a pair of mittens, a dress, a felted bowlonetwothree scarves and a cardigandress and pajamas for a dolly.


Some of these were finished a while ago but had been put away not quite finished as I was always eager to get onto the next thing.  Last week I realised that I had lots of lovely gifts that were not ready for wrapping, they needed ends weaving in, blocking (shaping) and buttons sewing on all things that are important and take time, time that I was running short of.

But it has all come together they are now all finished and wrapped so why the doubt?  Well then there are the socks, pairs onetwo and three are complete and wrapped up, pair four are very near completion but pair five is still a ball of wool.  I have until the 31st to finish off pair four and knit both socks of pair five.  The reason that these are slow is that pair two is a gift for my husband, I have knitted all these socks without him knowing.  At the time I decided to make all these socks my husband was away working most of the time, since September he has, you've guessed it been around most of the time so progress has been a bit frustrated!  So come Christmas Day I will be knitting in earnest in the hope that I can get them completed in time!

Light

21 December 2012

Today is the shortest day, this has always seemed a strange description to me as there are no less hours today than any other as I explained to my confused son.  It does, of course, mean the least amount of daylight hours.  It depends how far you live from the equator as to what this equates to.  It has felt, over the last few days, as if it has never really been that light but that has been due to cloud cover.  The shortest day for us means daylight from around 9am to around 3.30pm.  It has been very cold, wet, windy and wild.

So now we welcome in the light, the days will become longer for the next six months until the cycle is reversed and so we go on.

Knitting

19 December 2012

I am joining Tami for this weeks work in progress and Ginny for this weeks sharing of knitting and reading.

I have cast on and knitted up lots of small projects this week I have two left on the needles a scarf I started ages ago, this has taken a bit of a back seat lately but I need to get it finished so that I can block it before we go away on Sunday.  The other project is the socks I shared last week.  I decided to cast on the second sock as a change, I normally complete one sock before starting the other.  I have knitted the cuff and turned the heel and now need to knit the foot part on both.  These socks are for a friend with big feet so there is still many rows to knit on each.  They need to be knitted by New Year so I think I will complete these in time, not so sure about a second pair I would like to knit for New Year!

Reading has not been happening again this week, I have been knitting, sewing and crafting instead.  The only book I have looked at has been my Ultimate Knitting Bible to look up a few, new to me, techniques to finish off the Nova Dress.  I have now finished it but I am going to wait until after Christmas to share pictures as it is a gift for my youngest and I want to try to get a picture of her wearing it!

What are you knitting a reading this week?

Crafting

18 December 2012

I have been busy crafting and making over the last week or so.  We have made and posted all our Christmas cards, we have a few still to hand deliver.  We used old Christmas cards that I saved from previous years and using a cut out stamps of a Christmas tree and a star cut out the shapes and stuck them on.  My youngest wanted to help make the cards this year hence the simple design.

I have finally got round to buying so hair clips to attach flowers to.  I knitted these some time ago but have been waiting for my local craft shop to get some clips in stock which they did this week, just in time for Christmas.

I knitted up this cardigan for my youngest's dolly and have a dress on the needles both have been made with yarn from my stash.  The pattern for the cardigan is here, I modified it slightly to fit the size of our dolly.  If I made it again I would make further modifications as it is slightly too wide in the body.  I have made up a pattern for the dress.


I have just a few more bits I need to finish up for my mostly handmade Christmas.

Joining in with Nicole for this weeks sharing at Keep Calm Craft On.

Reading

17 December 2012

I used to have a wonderful independent bookshop in my nearby town which has sadly closed now.  As a result I find it really difficult to find it much more difficult to find good books.  I love reading poetry with my children, the now gone local bookshop used to have a whole bookshelf devoted to children's poetry.  I asked my mum to find a good poetry/rhyme (not nursery rhymes) book for my youngest's birthday earliest this year and she found this gem:


All Join In written and illustrated by the wonderful Quentin Blake.  The rhymes are funny, clever and great for children to join in with, as the title suggests.




The pictures that accompany the rhymes are as funny as the rhymes themselves.  We love to read these rhymes over and over and I could never get fed up of reading this lovely book.

Joining in with The Children's Bookshelf for a sharing of all things related to Children's books.

Gratitudes

16 December 2012

I am joining with Taryn for her heartfelt Sunday tradition.

A time to slow down, to reflect and be grateful.

This week I have been grateful for...

...my husband helping with the weekly shop, it means that the children and I get to spend longer in the library.

...a warming lunch made by a friend after we had been swimming.

...time to talk with friends.

...the wonderful company of my children.

...time for creating and crafting.

...the wonderful books that are available now for children and having the time to share them.

...the sense of belonging I have in the place I live.

Parties

15 December 2012

I was never a fan of birthday parties when I was a child, I never wanted them to celebrate my own birthday.  My eldest went to his first party at the age of four and absolutely hated it and asked that we never go to another.  At that particular party he did not know any other children except the birthday boy, it was very noisy, busy and games were played, this I later established was his hatred the noise and the games.

Each time he has been invited to a party we have had a discussion about whether he would like to go and I have had to find out whether there will be games played.  If I find out there is we don't go, especially if I feel that there will be no opting out.  Lately he has been more excited about the prospect of parties as he has made some good friends and therefore knows most of the children.  He has also joined in with some of the games at some of the parties we have been to.

Today I got it completely wrong and have not seen him so distressed in a long time.  It was a party of a good friend of his but it was not what he was expecting at all and he hardly set foot in the door before he retreated back to the car.  It was all the things he hated as a younger child, noisy and with lots of children he did not know and with games although absolutely no coercion to join in.  His absence was noted,but no fuss made for which I am immensely grateful.  He did come in as he was hungry and we retreated to a quieter room so he could eat.  We ended up staying after all the other guests had left and he played with his friend, quietly for a good hour before we headed home.

I talked to him after we got home, I discovered that I was right about the noise and the unfamiliar children.  I asked him if he would rather we had stayed at home, he was unsure he had had a good time but not at the start.  We have decided that we need to go back to those conversations that we had when he was younger.

Knitting

12 December 2012

I am joining in with Tami's work in progress and Ginny for this weeks sharing of knitting and reading.


On the needles this week is my fourth pair of socks,  I love this bamboo yarn. This is the third pair I have knitted with this yarn, all in different colourways,  I love this one.  This pair are for a friend so I hope my husband does not feel that his pair are too dull but I figure I can knit him more pairs in brighter colours if he wants!  The dress that I shared a couple of weeks ago is off the needles now. I need to weave in all the ends, and there are lots of them, block and then find some buttons that fit and I like, I am really struggling with this they need to be really small and there is so little choice.  I will share pictures when it is finished!

Reading has been very quiet this week.  I have been concentrating on knitting and Christmas card making.  I have found the time to read a few articles from my new copy of Juno magazine.

What have you been knitting and reading this week?

Weekending

11 December 2012

This last week has been one of family, we have spent time doing stuff together and it has been great fun.

We started the week with our usual trip into the local town to do the shopping and visit the library.  On Tuesday rather than catch up with our usual play date friends we all went swimming, we were pretty much the only people in the pool so it was a good time to go.  Afterwards we went to see a friend who lives nearby who we have not seen for ages.  She is pregnant with her second child so it was great to see how glowing she looked after sickness in the early weeks.

On Wednesday we were up and and out the door in half an hour, it was not a particularly early start but we are not early risers in our house.  We met friends at the train station and travelled to a nearby city to visit an excellent and interesting museum.  The train was really packed with people and it was standing room only we felt like sardines.  The museum was small but just the right size for little people to explore in a day, there was plenty of interactive exhibits and the writing was enough that if you are a beginner you could still engage.  It was a great day out.

On Thursday we had an adventurous shopping trip to a nearby town.  It was snowing, very windy and clod when we left the house, we made it into town no problem.  Walking round town it was really, really cold the wind funnelled between the building and it was icy cold on your face.  We got our shopping done and headed home two hours later we arrived (it is a twenty minute journey usually).  We met snow drifts and accidents but we did get home in one piece which is the most important thing.

Friday we stayed at home most of the day.  We walked up the village in the morning to post our international Christmas cards.  The snow on the hills looked so inviting that I suggested we go for a walk and play in the snow the following day.  When we woke on Saturday sadly the temperatures had warmed in the night and the snow line was much to high for little legs.  My youngest can walk a fair distance but we knew if we attempted to go that high we would end up as porters as the day wore on and she is very heavy now.  We changed our plans and headed for lower ground.  It was a cold day with the wind making it feel much cooler but it was beautifully sunny.  We found a great spot at the top of a hill by a wall to have lunch with the sun warming our faces.  We headed down after that, as we were concerned that the wind might blow the children off their feet if we went any higher, and found a spot to light our stove and make a hot drink each replenished with a drink and blackcurrant flapjack we marched back to the car singing songs and collecting an amazing amount of sticks.

Sunday we had a day of rest together at home.  We pottered around playing games, making a mess, building dens, making more Christmas cards and knitting.

Reading

10 December 2012

I could never tire of reading books to my children although some of the stories they choose I would prefer not to read over and over again.  One book I could never tire of reading is Owl Babies by Martin Waddell.

The story is about three baby owls who wake to find that there mother has gone.  They are all worried and are not sure whether she will come back.  The story, for me flows beautifully as if written in prose and there is one line repeated on each page which children can join in with.


The story covers topic which can be a cause of worry to young children, is mummy or daddy going to come back when they go away.  The owls find comfort in each other as the attempt to make sense of what is going on and whether mummy will return.  The picture depicting their return is wonderful in its animation, showing their delight that she has come back as they hoped she would.

The author, Martin Waddell has written many other lovely books such as Snow Bears and Can't you Sleep, Little Bear but Owl Babies is my favourite.

Apologies for the terrible pictures it has been really gloomy here today....

Joining in with The Children's Bookshelf a weekly sharing or all things related to children's books.

Gratitudes

09 December 2012

I am joining in with Taryn for her heartfelt Sunday tradition.

A time to slow down, to reflect and be grateful.

This week I have been grateful for...

...a chance to spend some time doing activities as a family,

...time to spend with a friend that we have not seen for ages, she is pregnant with her second child and it was lovely to see her glowing.

...getting home safely after an adventurous journey.

...having the time to finish off three knitting projects.

...bright sunshine and a big blue sky when we were out on a family walk.

...having a warm, cosy house to return to in the cold weather.

...watching my children playing and looking after each other.

...talking to my mum on the phone and hearing that my dad's health continues to slowly improve.

Disconnected

08 December 2012

I have been connecting with the blogging world for less than a year, this time last year I was not reading any.  Blogging is an interesting window into the lives of others, of those who live in the same country and who live thousands of miles away. I am sure it is true that you migrate to the blogs of those whose lives are similar to your own, this is certainly the case for me. This new window has meant that for the first time I am reading and looking at pictures of how others celebrate at this time of year.

I have posted about how I feel that I have lost my way with the traditions that I have held so dear in the past, but now I have found myself looking into a world that I am not only not part of but that I do not want to be part of.

I have not visited this blog as much this week and I have not been reading others as much either. I love the joy and happiness that this time of year can bring but I find that it can completely take over and leave no room for anything else.  I do not want to feel suffocated by Christmas and all that it means, I want to embrace it and enjoy it so I am on retreat to a place where I can.

Adventures

06 December 2012

It would seem that Thursday is becoming the day of adventure, the type that are totally unplanned.

Last week we went for a walk with friends which we completed in the dark as we ran out of daylight. Today we went to a nearby town for some last bits of Christmas shopping, a journey of about 20 minutes which took two hours on return.  When we set off it was snowing lightly, the road we were travelling on was clear at that time, after two hours it was blocked.  We had to drive some distance to establish that, we were informed that a foot of snow was blocking the road further up the hill.  We turned round, headed back to town and out on another road.  That too was blocked this time by a vehicle which we later established had hit a wall.  We headed back again to town and set off towards the motorway which we hoped was still open.  It was but we were delayed but yet another accident, there was only one vehicle on the hard shoulder which looked like it had spun out of control as it was facing the wrong way.

The weather has been cold and snowy but not so bad that conditions were unsuitable for driving.  We have these conditions most winters, if you are to be a confident driver in these conditions you need to go out and experience them.  However continuing to drive at the speed you would in dry, warm conditions and not using car lights when the visibility is really poor it is hardly surprising that accidents happen.

Changes

05 December 2012

Sometimes I look and I see that you have changed.
You are no longer a toddler but a little girl.
You are moving away more and more each day no longer stuck to my side as you venture out and explore.
You walk further and further each time we go out, striding out to keep up with your brothers longer legs.
You sometimes request your dad to go to sleep with at night.
Your desire for mummy milk, as you call it, grows less each day sometimes you will go for days without any.
Some changes are so small I do not notice them until I really look and I must or I will miss them, they will pass me by and you will be gone moved out into the world on your own.
It is short this time we have together and treasure it I must.

Weekending

04 December 2012

It was a different week this last one, one of happiness and sadness in equal amounts.

We started the week with our usual trip into town for shopping and library visit. Our usual Tuesday play date was not a good day for any of us, so much so that we have talked about giving it a rest for a while but we may feel differently in a week or so time will tell.

Wednesday our play date cancelled on us so we stayed at home and pottered about, it always feels odd to me when plans are changed at the last minute, like I cannot get started with anything.  The children carried on as usual, enjoying each others company and playing the whole day though.

On Thursday we joined our friends at their house for lunch after which we headed out for a walk.  The original suggestion was to walk to a cafe along a road, I have never been keen on road walking especially with children so I suggested something different.  It was a longer route and we made it to the cafe for wonderful cakes and tea.  The walk back to the car was completed in the dark as we ran out of daylight,  I hope this did not put our friends off doing walks with us again my two love this kind of adventure but I know it is not for everyone.

Friday we had another day at home we built a railway track and town, drove endless trains and cars, played games, made a birthday card, drew some pictures and in the evening pressed some apples.  We have borrowed an apple press and managed to press 3.5 litres of apple juice from a big bag full of apples.  We have drunk a litre of it and kept the rest to make cider and cider vinegar.  We pressed the apples from frozen and we got far more juice than our last pressing when we crushed them.

Saturday we headed out fairly early to celebrate my brothers birthday.  He is not a man who particularly likes surprises so we were a bit concerned that it would back fire but we all had a great time.  The drive home was interesting it was a very cold frosty night and there was ice on the roads we got back in one piece but it was slow intensive driving.

On Sunday we rested after our long day out.  Well that was the intention but it turned into a productive day.  My husband finished building a ladder for our youngest's bed, I sewed a bag together and with my youngest started to make Christmas cards, December is upon us so I better get them made and sent quickly or it will be the New Year!

Reading

03 December 2012

There are many books available for children which introduce numbers and counting, one of my favourites is this one, One Two Three Count with Me by Lawrence and Catherine Anholt.

The illustrations are beautiful and go so well with the text.  There is so much going on in the pictures but not too much that you feel overwhelmed.  Each page has a slightly different theme which I think keeps the book interesting for children.  It is not a book which has one thing on the first page followed by two etc. this helped my eldest to understand numbers and seems to be working for my youngest too.


These authors have written many other books, we have two of them one about animals the other about children again they are both beautifully illustrated. There is some text in each but neither is a storybook, there is lots to see and talk about in the pictures.

Joining this week with The Children's Bookshelf a sharing of all things to do with Children's books.

Gratitude

02 December 2012

Joining in with Taryn for her heartfelt Sunday tradition.

A time to slow down, to reflect and to be grateful.

This week I have been grateful for...

...the warmth of our fire on the cold frosty days we have had this week,

...the wonderful things my husband has made with wood this week,

...time to spend on continuing to make Christmas presents,

...the care with which my husband looks after our car which made a drive home on an icy night much easier,

...sleep returning to me this week,

...the loan of an apple press to make some delicious apple juice,

...spending time with my extended family a far too rare occurrence,

Celebrations

01 December 2012

We have celebrated with one of my brothers this weekend, he had a birthday a significant one.  His lovely partner managed to get us all together in the delightful village of Malham as a surprise.  He thought he was going away for a quiet weekend of walking, nothing our family do together is ever that quiet.

For me it was a celebration on two fronts not only to mark his birthday but also the changes, he has had his life over the last five years.  I will never forget taking him out ten years ago to celebrate with him then, my mum was with us too, but to me it felt there was little to celebrate.   He was living in a very run down house as that was all he could afford to rent, he was not working and had not since graduating six years earlier, his self esteem was almost non existent and he seemed to me to be very depressed.  He also found family gatherings hard, my other brother and I were both married with children, his life was so far removed for ours, we hardly saw anything of him.

In the last five years he has found a job which he really enjoys, bought a house and found a lovely lady to share his life.  He is a totally different person and it is a wonderful transformation.  I have always enjoyed his company but I am so glad that he now enjoys ours.  It was a wonderful day, one that I won't be forgetting for a long time.