Monday 19 May 2014

Woodchester park

Saturday was very busy, chopping up bits of shed, painting, making the patio usable again, so Sunday was a day to just enjoy.





I baked one of Lucy's loaves using some seeded flour, grabbed some nibbles on the way and we were all set for a picnic!


We followed the activity trail through the woods, and stopped for our picnic here. This seemed like the best spot: it wasn't on the path, it didn't involve trampling through the woods and it was pretty. The only downside was standing up from time to time when children actually wanted to use the balance beams ;)

The woods were stunning; all the beech leaves out in their spring fresh greens, and some glorious sunshine to highlight them.
It's got to be one of my favourite sights, the sun shining through baby leaves. It's one that surprises me every year, I forget just how fresh and beautiful they can be.
The park was designed by Capability Brown, and so occasionally you come across some great views.
The design style is to mimic nature rather than anything formal, and it definitely felt like a lovely natural place to be.
The mansion at the heart of it was never finished, and we didn't visit as we preferred to be outside on such a sunny day.
The field at the bottom of the valley was filled with buttercups,
and lined with cow parsley. I just love our native wild flowers, but apparently my camera doesn't as it refused to take any close-ups of them.
So here's some more gorgeously green trees.

Wednesday 7 May 2014

Smellies

Walking home from the park I got a whiff of a wonderful smell. The wind was blowing nearly enough to knock R over, and we were really rather cold, so it was a bit surprising. Even better, it was coming from my garden!


Blurred, but this is the toddler enjoying the flowers. I ended up having to prise them out of her mitts once the bashing got too much!


Amazing that so delicate a flower has such an intense smell, without getting cloying.


They're looking lovely on the mantelpiece, and the living room smells just wonderful now. 

Monday 5 May 2014

Yarn Shop Day

Saturday was Yarn Shop Day, and so of course I had to investigate. There were many shops in the country putting on events for the day, and the Let's Knit website had a useful interactive map to help you find a local event. I left Mr P in charge of DIY, and the munchkin and I went off in hunt of the yarn shop.


Our local one (at least our good local one, one shop in our town sells about five balls) is in Thornbury. And rather good it is too! Apparently it's recently moved to a larger site (and I managed to end up at the old site first, oops) and so it feels nice and open, while still having plenty of wool.



Of course I had to come back with some souvenirs from the wool stop (yes, it's called The Wool Stop!).


I got the basket from a street stall - I love wicker baskets, so couldn't resist getting one, especially as I hadn't actually got one. The ribbon came from a gift shop, it's got elephants on it, yay! The wool is for a few projects: the stripey is for socks; the cream/brown to finish this hat, and the grey and purples for this, more elephants! Goodness know when I'll finish all these projects, I've got enough on the go at the moment.


My little helper seems to approve, though of course the wool belongs out of the basket.

Thursday 1 May 2014

Gardening

Today I had the urge to get outside in between the showers and enjoy the brief moments of sunshine. I dressed the little one in her waterproof onesie, and out we went.


Rather a looming grey sky, but it definitely made the colours jump out at you!


Cleaning the pots ready for planting. R decided that it would be fun to sit in the suds, and even more fun to eat them.


Helping with the scrubbing.


My lovely mum gave me these, and they're brightening up the wall by the patio. 


Potting on the tomatoes, sunflowers and dahlias. They'll go back into the conservatory for a bit as we're still forcast frost.


She definitely loves getting in on the action!


Time for a bit of fun! (and a peek of the slightly grubby patio)


I was so impressed with our little munchkin today. Her words are really starting to come along, but even so I wasn't expecting her to say bubble! Maybe more buh-buu, but definitely distinct and understandable, more so than many teenagers! Another thing I was not expecting at 14 months was her to be able to blow bubbles! We had fun earlier in the week learning to blow dandelion clocks, which was met with a certain amount of success... some got blown, others got too close to her mouth and she ended up with the seeds in her mouth, pleh. But bubbles are so much harder, I struggle sometimes. She managed to grab the bubble stick just right and blow the bubbles too, just the right levels of puff. Well done R, a good few bubbles blown. Wow!


Not so impressed with the state of her waterproof. That's one muddy bum! Sign of an afternoon well spent in my view.