No I have not lost the plot (not quite anyway) as I do know it is not Xmas but for me this is the season to be jolly rather than Winter. Winter is just wet and cold and endless but this is Spring and it has been hot in Yorkshire for more than one day!

It has been sunny and we nearly had a barbecue last night (ok so it rained just as I was going to light it so we had an grill a cue instead but we were nearly there!). It has been lovely weather all week, the garden looks fab as I have had chance to work on it and  I am a very happy bunny. I feel so much better when I can be outdoors and get some sun – albeit I did have a lot of work and marking to do this week but I still got chance to potter. I am very proud of my garden as I designed it from scratch – when we moved into this house 2  1/2 years ago there was just a long boring stretch of grass as you can see from pic below.

We then had our very own Ground Force weekend in the rain with me starring as a very wet Charlie Dimmock and managed to get it to this stage.

Do we need more water or shall I just let the rain fill it?

The finished – if a little bare garden.

In true Ground Force style it has come on a treat now everything has bloomed (and I have added lots of bits to it) and now looks fab. I am very pleased with it as it has taken lots of work to get it to this stage but it looks wonderful now. I am at the age when I like nothing better than pottering of a summer evening talking to my plants and am looking forward to some lovely evenings again this summer when we entertain friends.

 

Have also tonight updated the Project Nepal page with a little slideshow of the building from last weekend so do visit that for an update. Have also changed the header image on the site – this is the Laton Jacket from the VA Musuem in London that the Embroiderer’s Story project are re-creating – go and visit their site for an update.

Today is my daughter Ellen’s 17th birthday so in honour of that here are a few pictures. We have had a quiet weekend at her request – we went to Nottingham yesterday to visit the Robin Hood exhibition then out for a meal at which this pic of her and Jake was taken.

Today we went for a girlie afternoon trip to the cinema to see ’27 Dresses’ which was very good. Here she is with her birthday cake and her favourite bear with its new outfit which was a birthday present from her friend Charlotte.

Ans I know she will probably hate me for this but I couldn’t resist showing you one of her looking cute at 1 day old to go with the rest of these lovely pics – so here she is!

How time flies! Happy birthday darling from all of us.

Last weekend we went to London to visit various museums and sights that we did not do on our last trip about 4 years ago. The main reason for going this time was to visit the Tutankhamen exhibition at the O2 in Greenwich which was very good. There were not a huge number of exhibits but those that were there were very detailed such as jewellery, crowns, chairs and chests. It is amazing to think that they are all so old and still exist in such good condition.

We also visited the Tower of London, the Imperial War Museum and had a trip on the London eye – scary considering Jake does not really like heights but good fun! We were due to visit Camden Lock Market on the Sunday as a treat for Ellie but unfortunately it caught fire on Sat night so we went to Covent Garden instead.

We saw the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London which were very impressive (lots of goldwork as well though sadly pics were not allowed) and the ravens who are very big!

First some pics of the family at well known tourist spots –

This is in the London Eye capsule as it got to the very top – it moves very slowly so it is not too scary until you look down and realise you are very high up – we were lucky to have a very clear day so we could see lots but it was very hot in the capsule.

As we got to Covent Garden they were setting up the red carpets and barriers for the Baftas on Sunday night. We could not to stay to see any of the stars arrive but here is Ellie doing her best starlet impression!

Next some pictures of things that I liked the look of –

We went to Selfridges to the Food Hall and they had these very fab cakes especially for Valentines Day and some extremely expensive (£3.50) Valentine’s Day water (give me chocolate please – who wants water!)

These two pics were taken in a very cute gift shop in Covent Garden – just look at those little car glasses – I wonder if they are motorised then your wine would never be out of reach!

This is one of those Sushi places where the little dishes revolve around the counter – have never been in one as no-one in the family will eat raw fish but one day I will just for the experience – I think they are such a wacky idea. I could do with this at home – maybe I could get an adaptation on the fridge and endless dishes will just stream out ready to eat then I would not have to cook!

I also took lots of pics of the lovely architecture – old and new – so have created a little slideshow for you of pics from the Tower, Canary Wharf and the London Eye – sadly no nice doors though!

We spent last weekend at Centerparks in Nottinghamshire. For those of you outside the UK or who have never been Centerparks are forest holiday resorts where you can do lots of cycling and all sorts of sports. I have been going regularly for a girls weekend away and we used to take the family once a year but neither things have happened for a few years. However last October we reinstated the girls weekend away and partly because of guilt over that and partly as I wanted something to look forward to in awful Jan I booked a holiday for all of us.

The weather was really good , dry and sunny which was quite amazing considering the previous Monday there had been all the floods. Interestingly that Monday (Jan 21st) is apparently the most depressing day of the year according to some psychologist’s research.

Anyway we had a lovely time cycling, canoeing, boating, swimming, badminton, Pilates, Ellen’s first Spa Experience (now she is 16 and an adult she can do all these wonderful things!) and going on the rapids.

I am not very good with wild water rides but did pluck up the courage to go one time but ended up underwater a bit too much for my liking. I am still testing myself out for the white water rafting as we are having a training weekend in April with the Project Nepal group to do a practise raft and trek and I would like to go on that even if I don’t do the full thing in Nepal.

I would actually have tried again the next day as since I did not drown the first time so was not really likely to the second time when I knew what to expect but it was really packed and there were lots of people landing on other people’s heads. I did pluck up the courage to go down a long covered tube water slide on my own which I thought was good as it was in the dark and quite fast! The fact that there were babies and toddlers going on with their parents gave me courage and I enjoyed it so much I went on four times. There is hope for me yet!

Below are some pics including a couple of all the cute animals I was feeding all weekend – I chose a villa next to the water so that I could feed all the wildlife.

I have done this quiz as it comes from a blog I read regularly and the blog owner has asked everyone to do it on their blogs – so here it is 

TEN random things you might not know about me.
1: I  ran for Student Union President when at college and lost by 17 votes – the narrowest margin ever in the history of elections up to that point.
2: I used to stand on a street corner selling the Socialist Worker Magazine in my home town on a Saturday morning.
3: I cannot drive – though I have recently got my provisional licence and am going to learn.
4:Up to this date I have lived in 27 different houses.
5:I once said ‘the Internet-can’t really see the point – don’t think I’ll bother with it!’
6:My daughter is called Ellen Scarlett Rose as the day she was born they were showing it on TV – Scarlett O’Hara is one of my heroines.
7:The reason Ellen is called Ellen is that she is named after the Sigourney Weaver character called Ellen Ripley in the Alien movies.

8:When pegging out my washing on the line I have to have pegs that match – you can’t put a blue with a red in my world!
9:Every morning when I empty the dishwasher I count the cutlery to see how many of each sort there are – most mornings the big spoons win!
10:From my 18th to my 25th birthdays I celebrated by having one drink for each year in the one evening at my birthday celebrations- after that I kind of thought it would be good not to continue the trend!

NINE places I’ve visited

 
1:Sweden – twice
2:France
3:Spain
4:New York – for a hen weekend – very crazy!
5:Florida- to go to Disneyland
6:Disneyland Paris – 3 times coz I love Disneylands
7:Holland
8:London – lots and lots when I was younger

9:Paris – the grown up bit not Disneyland!

EIGHT ways to win my heart

 
1:Give me red wine
2:Give me chocolate
3:Show me your tattoos
4:Buy me embroidery stuff
5:Take me to see someone else’s embroidery
6:Let me visit churches
7:Take me to places that have fabulous doors
8.Not be sarcastic to me

SEVEN things I want to do before I die

 
1:Visit every country that ends in’stan’ – currently I think there are 7 but that depends on the political situation
2:Visit every Disneyland at least once – three to go in California, Tokyo and Hong Kong
3:Follow the ‘In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great’ trek done by Michael Wood a few years ago on TV
4:Learn to drive – on the left for the UK and on the right for Spain
5:Embroider a really big Quaker sampler piece
6:Visit every place in the ‘World Landmarks’ book that I just bought

7:Visit the Himlayas – hopefully this will be done in Oct!

SIX things I’m afraid of

1:Worms
2:Forgetting things that are important3:People I love dying
4:Not getting everything done in time
5:Chocolate being made illegal
6:Running out of red wine

FIVE things I don’t like

1:The amount of paperwork at work
2:Not being able to be outside in the winter months
3:People who don’t do things because ‘something might happen’
4:People not putting things away
5:Moving house – though I love looking at estate agents details and viewing houses

FOUR ways to turn me off

1:Not like camping
2:Be sarcastic
3:Be prejudiced
4:Not appreciate the ultimate sanctity of my stitching time

THREE Things I do everyday

1:Clean – unfortunately!

2:Drink red wine
3:Embroider – unless there is a very serious reason not to – like I am knitting or some horrible surgeon has cut my hand open! It happened and I couldn’t stitch for months!

TWO things that make me happy

1:Embroidery
2:My family

ONE thing on my mind right now
1:Will I remember what I am supposed to be doing next week?

This will be my last post for a while as we are off to Spain where my Mum, Gran and Aunt and Uncle live – I have finished all my stitching and posted it and made my last pine cone the other day. Of course I am taking some more with me – making a start on next year’s ornaments!

We have had friends round this evening for a pre- Xmas party and tomorrow are having some presents and a traditional Xmas dinner with turkey and all the trimmings so that the children don’t feel too deprived! When in Spain we will have a picnic on the beach for Xmas day and a bar-b-que.

 We arrive on Monday in Spain and we have booked a trip to Valencia for Thursday and Friday. Jacob and I went for the day in the summer but I wanted to go back as we did not have much time. We visited the fabulous old cathedral which has real relics in and then went to the modern City of Sciences area to see the aquarium centre which has the most wonderful beluga whales and seals. If you want to have a look at some pictures then check out this link.It is a beautiful city like so many in Spain and I’m sure we will be going back again after this visit. We also have plans to go up into the mountains again and to visit the wonderful natural outdoor spa pools with heated water and fabulous mountain views. It is a tough life but someone has to do it!

 I hope that you all have a lovely Xmas and I will post when we get back.