No I haven't been away........

nor have I been any busier than usual with work, but the reason I haven't written is that i didn't know what to say. Life here in the small town has taken on a strange atmosphere, preparations for university have stepped up a pace. There has been a trip to Primark for towels and bedding, I am buying all the deals on toiletries I see....all with more than a little disbelief and dread. Herb is keeping his feelings very close to his chest but I am becoming agitated and there is a certain tension in the house. This was compounded this week with a visit to the university open day in Leeds for youngest child. We did the 3 hours drive up north to see what Leeds has to offer for a 17 year old wanting to study fine art. We loved it but to be honest I think she was a little overawed by the campus and the course and it probably isn't for her. (Her with the purple bag)but again on the drive back, I pondered on the fact that this time next year the nest will indeed be empty.....and that doesn't make me happy. There was an article in the Observer last week whose tone was that this was an ideal opportunity for a couple to refind each other, to pursue new interests etc. Of coursed I pounced on this but it didn't make me feel any better. We have a lovely life which I appreciate very much , we enjoy each others company, have lovely friends, a nice home, a good work life balance , it will just seem a paler shade without the girls. that's all.

Enough.....its going to happen onward and upward.......I have plans to fill the space.

I'm going to turn the spare bedroom(it's so bad now i can't even bear to show you a picture) into a bit of a craft room.

I will go to the handmade craft fair in Cambridge in December and the knitting and stitching show at Alexandra Palace in October for inspiration.

I am thinking of starting a stitching group in the small town.

I have Herbs landmark birthday to sort.....and of course youngest will still be here for another year. No need to wish that away.

Speaking of crafting.....a little bit of crewel..I have run out of wool for the university blanket, so took the time to finish the black and green one. I absolutely love it. I know its a bit contrived colour wise but that's me I'm afraid. Only a few hundred ends to sew in!

A level results day.........

Well the sun finally rose on today........literally I was there to see it, i just couldn't sleep properly. I finally heard eldest child get a phone call at 7.15, then a very quiet 10 minutes (she was checking on the UCAS site)before the door was flung open and she shouted at her dad who was of course fast asleep(how can men do that?).........''I'm going to uni''........fantastic fantastic news. We are so very proud of her, she has worked very hard. AAB is not easily achievable although we think she was a little disappointed she didn't get 3 A's. But hey she's off to York to study how the brain works-psychology....how brilliant is that.

Youngest child got her AS results, A B C........so she is very happy too. In fact both are so thrilled, we have hardly seen them because they have gone to town to celebrate on the common with all their pals. The house has been filled with noisy excitable young people and why not. All quiet now though.

Youngest is off to Greece tonight so we are doing a midnight round trip to Gatwick. oh joy. I am more than a little worried about her going away and have prepared a little lecture, you know the kind of things, stick together, don't drink too much, don't burn in the sun, eat properly, stay away from boys etc etc. You can imagine the response I will get

I am now under pressure to crack on with the new blanket for eldest to take to uni. I think it looks really good so far.

Just need to pop to John Lewis to get some more supplies of yarn. Meanwhile have started a little crewel project as I can't bear to have nothing on the go. There is never enough time for all my ideas! Great day.......

lazy sunday.......some crochet and crewel embroidery

well the end of a perfect day............have literally done nothing domestic except cook the chicken dinner and put the washing on the line. the rest of the day I have devoted to the radio,



crochet,

checking favourite blogs, flickering, embroidery,



the papers





and the daughter ( in small measure....only really delivering food and drinks on a regular basis!). in other words, me. which I have to say is happening more and more as the children don't need me as much, husband is fully occupied with whatever the current sport is on TV ( the ashes as you probably know). eldest child is in Ibiza on her first all girl holiday. I have had some texts so i know she is alive. have to shut my mind to all things negative and trust she will come back in one piece brimming with wonderful experiences. which I'm sure will be the case. happy days

...and back again

Am back……..it was a lovely relaxing easy holiday for me and the girls. Herb on the other hand had a dreadful time. He'd hurt his back before we left and (its an ongoing problem) and it just got worse and worse. On the day we were flying we should have had a lovely easy start but a) his back was the worst it had been and b) the m25 was shut just where we needed it not to be. So it was all panic, levered him into the car and bombed down the motorway. Luckily the motorway had reopened so we got to Gatwick as the check out opened. Result. I am I admit someone who likes to get to these places dead early, just in case. The kids hate it.

The flight was very painful for Herb and we tried to be sympathetic as we munched on sweets and listened to ipods. I had downloaded audio books which I would heartily recommend for a long journey. So Alan Bennett's Talking Heads got me through. But poor Herb suffered. Top that off with a 45 min drive from Pafos airport up in the hills in the dark and we were more than ready for the wine waiting for us. The new day brought lovely views down to the sea and the bluest sky you have ever seen. And that’s the way its stayed for 11 days, getting hotter and hotter. I went out with the girls every day. To the beach, the famous pafos mosaics, which were wonderful. Ice cream sundaes by the harbour. And all the time with those wonderful views. If you’ve been to Cyprus you will know how very British it is and the development is every where, with very little of old Cyprus left especially where we were. But hey, it was a wonderful relaxing time. I did lots of my crocheted flowers and some crewel tapestry which I am really in to. We ate nice food and drunk some very good Cypriot wine from local vineyards. We managed to prise Herb into the car on a couple of occasions but he only really began to enjoy himself a couple of days before we left. Never mind we shall return and do more exploring another time.

Hows this for a small world. On the last day we left the girls and got in the car to escape the heat.( I know it was hot here but 40 plus is too much for me) and headed up the hills to get the breeze. We stopped in a little restaurant I had my eye on in the middle of nowhere because the terrace had the most amazing views and were soon joined by an English couple who clearly wanted a chat. And you can guess, they have just moved to cyprus permanently from our small town. I love it when thing like that happen don’t you