Holiday.....sun here we come!

We're off to Cyprus this weekend...........all of us. A very different holiday from usual.

We have had a very long love affair with France, renting a gite with a pool,

exploring gorgeous villages, long lazy lunches,

vineyards, chateaux.

You know the thing. Well last year the girls said enough. No more France and come the new year they promptly booked their own holidays with friends. As it should be at that age. Herb and I thought about what we should do for a holiday........he started banging on about the new flooring we need in the sitting room but i said STOP......nothing will stop me having a holiday, I don't care how foul the carpet it.........it isn't actually he just has a rather large bee in his bonnet about it.

So we decided to go to my sisters holiday home in Cyprus. We've never been to Cyprus so thought it would be a bit of an adventure. You've guessed, they are both coming. To cries of 'what no France this year', 'going somewhere good without us' etc etc, I have booked 4 flights and a car. They have assured us that they won't participate in any sightseeing....just r& r by the pool after exams. Fair enough I say, but I am sorry not to be going to France, maybe I can sneak a quick trip in the autumn.

Have stocked up on the crafting goodies

for the trip, more like for 10 trips actually which I will have to sneak into the case. I have a first 'commission' for my embroidery so will pick up the needle while sat on the terrace overlooking Pafos with my glass or two of pink and enjoy.

Embroidery Gift

Well here it is.......the home made gift. I do hope she likes it. We met for breakfast today and she was in a funny old mood. The birthday blues me thinks . But I'm sure she'll be fine tomorrow and for the party Saturday.
She wanted me to go to town today which normally I would love to do mainly because I can stock up on yarn at John Lewis but today I wanted to put the present together.




Herb thought it would look great on our wall and was encouraging me to go out and get a gift from town so we could keep it but I can always make another.



and I will do...it was good fun.


Had two book club nights in a week. Have been naughty and not always reading the books. mainly because I'm always so damn tired..............but friend gave us all a talking to and I have vowed to read all choices. However painful! Anyway one of these was one I wanted for my hols anyway so no prob this time.I loved the first book by this author 'Shadow of the Wind' and hope his new offering will be just as good.

I love these book club nights. One is a real good gossip , alcohol and a bit about the book........the other a little bit more serious and some non fiction but very nice people. I love to read always have, but now I mainly read when I go to bed so it has to be fairly easy reading.

Will let you know how the present is received tomorrow.

I meant to go for lots of colour......

honestly I did.

I love the things made by Lucy at attic24 but when it came to it my hands reached for the muted tones, a deep duck egg blue, gorgeous aubergine, ice blue and that rose pink I so love. I have decided to do the flower squares at rosehip just because I haven’t done anything like this before and so far the squares have come out beautifully.

A cushion for my bedroom I think. ...........I haven’t finished the blanket

yet but bought this little project to take on holiday. Herb now tells me the crochet hook won’t be allowed on the flight so I won’t be able to while away 4 hours creating.

However I must put the hook aside and finish the embroidery that I am hoping to give as a gift for my friend at the weekend. I have the frame and made a start but now am a bit less confident. Will she like it or just be polite and tuck it away in a corner somewhere. Will show you the result at the end of the week.

Oh must show you my bargain. I went to a charity bring and buy sale on Saturday. I had been warned this was no ordinary sale and indeed it wasn’t………housed in a beautiful barn, it was labels galore….which is not my thing but youngest child had a good root through. Then I spied the shoes. Boxed, new and gorgeous and all for £25.00.

(£120.00 new) and they fit. Fantastic. Youngest got a Ralph Loren shirt which she is very pleased with for £5.00. I have never been one for bargains but this has spurred me on. I will be more enthusiastic when dragged into charity shops by my friends on our days out and hopefully get some more bargains to show you.

Venice `a deux......part 1

...well not exactly; we did go with a couple of good friends but without the teens. First time in 10 years I think. And Venice was fabulous. The friends suggested it and we thought why not. I must be honest it wasn’t in my top 10 places to see before I pop my clogs( no time soon I hope) but the friends did all the booking and well you will probably know if you’ve been, it’s a kind of one off place. Nowhere else like it in the world I guess.

The friends wanted a particular hotel which was way out of our price bracket but they assured us with 24 hours to go the price would drop by half. So we all checked Saturday and guess what, the price wasn’t dropping. A hasty telephone call to Italy advised the intrepid travellers that there was a pretty big boating event going on in Venice on Sunday, the day we were arriving and Venice was all booked up. Panic!

The friends eventually found two rooms on budget in a small hotel but in a good location with all good reviews on Trip Advisor. Phew what a relief. Arrived courtesy of a Ryanair 6.30 flight at about 9.15 to a wet and windy Treviso. At the top of the Grand Canal we were told because of the event on the Grand Canal there were no water buses till the afternoon. So we soaked up sights and sounds on the walk to the lagoon. Herb was so sweet pulling my little case as well as his rucksack. We broke for the best pizza stop ever (I’m not a pizza fan in the UK but this was something else) then continued on our way to our hotel in a small alley near the

piazza St Marco.....and guess what ......we had been upgraded to their 4 star sister hotel right on the lagoon front. Fantastic room. All bells and whistles. But we dumped our stuff and were on our way by 11. The weather

was improving by the minute and so we walked

and walked

and walked.......our little socks off in fact. Diving off the main drag with its thousands of people leads in minutes to deserted alleys

and piazzas. Armed with the best gelato

the world can offer we wandered

with no agenda until we needed to sit. Then fortified by prosecco and coffee we watched the world go by.

What a wonderful day..........

Its a day for counting ones blessings. Yesterday was a very long day spent in the London suburbs. Not the nicest parts of our capital, but the ones that look depressing even in the nicest weather. The ones that feel dirty and dare I say slightly threatening. So today i am back in my country town and enjoying the sun. I have allowed myself to potter, ignoring all the jobs that demand my attention, enjoying the garden.........oh and preparing for Venice on Sunday. Can't wait!

the garden is looking beautiful



such colours...



the colour on this peony is so so beautiful

i love the end of the garden......can you spot' my old man'



the iris' on the pond have people stopping to look ......they are stunning

What do you call......

....a room full of accountants. I had a whole day to think about this on Thursday. A smart location deep in the heart of London town, a view of St Pauls from one window and the GPO tower from the other. Even such views were not enough to distract from the subject in hand. Accounting. Benchmarking. The morning was bearable. Flicking through the handout trying to fit the names and job titles to the people sat around me. Surely they could see through me,I hardly dared catch their eye, I don’t belong here! don’t feel a passion for the bottom line. Oh I dreamed to be spending my day elsewhere. Making something, enjoying the garden,

reading. By the afternoon it was not so good. Even the dedicated started to drift away both physically and spiritually. Eyes were glazing over, doodling was getting creative. Then we all hurried away back to our various corners of this green and pleasant land. Herb got me tea and showed me to the settee. I picked up my crochet and relaxed. Do people know how lucky they are when they have jobs they love? That’s what I tell my offspring, try and find something you love that will also pay the rent.(Youngest made these muffins to cheer me up)

Meanwhile I shall while away my free time in my quiet pleasures.

.......oh and yes a room full of accountants, a depreciation I think.

A Midweek Jaunt

Quite often when the mood takes us Herb and I get in the 'microwave'-what my friends laughingly call my beloved Ka- and scoot off for a little jolly. Maybe to the beach, but more often to a not too distant small town or village to have a little tramp round. This often takes the form of a coffee in the nicest tea shop we can find, take in the charms of said town or village then refer to the ordnance survey for a little walk. Not too arduous you understand but hopefully some nice views, clean air and no traffic noise.( I have a real issue with the distant hum of motorways as Herb would tell you. Every trip involves a moment of stopping and listening.)Yesterday we went to a village with no hum. Just the wind in the trees and lots of birds.

First we went to the wool shop I told you about. I bought more yarn for the granny blanket; the owner was particularly good about discreetly writing down the total as Herb was in the vicinity. While I was there I looked at the dk cotton for my next project. The most beautiful colours but I mustn’t jump the gun, treats in store. I couldn’t spend as much time as I wanted because I could hear a little impatience behind me but I will be back soon, this time on my own.

After the wool shop we drove to a village I had been to before and had a good trek. The church yard was beautiful with the graveyard having been turned into a meadow. And right by the church was the oldest yew tree we have ever seen. The markings on the inside of the hollow trunk were beautiful; my picture can’t do it justice.

As we were leaving I spotted a stall by the roadside advertising the wares of the local farm shop and as we stepped up to have a look noticed the pigs in the field behind charging towards us. A small electric fence blocked their way but we realised the stall also sold pig food which was why they were showing so much interest. A £1 well spent for these magnificent creatures but it won’t stop me ordering from the farm. Youngest child cannot believe I can eat the bacon after stroking the pig, but i can!!