Princess's in the Making

Another few days filled with love and laughter, this time lots of girlie laughter.  What a joy to spend quality time with the girls, dancing and twirling around like Princess's.  We have raced each other around the park and climbed every piece of apparatus, enjoying the slides and swings.

 

We are considering becoming mountain climbers when we grow up, as well as umpteen Disney characters and super heroes.

 

 

We had a great afternoon fruit picking at the local farm, it is becoming an annual event for us to share.  The obligatory photo by the strawberry.

 

 

Straightaway to the strawberries, one for the basket one for the mouth.  I am always honest about how much they eat but once again no extra cost was incurred. 

 

 

The girls thought it might be a good job, but Granny thought it would be hard on the back.

 

We have had lots of lovely moments, chatting and putting the world to rights over a craft project.

 

 

Painting, stamping and threading to decorate a coat hangar, what a joy.

 

The rocks brought back from the beach were painted and decorated and made into dinosaurs.

 

 

The possibility of becoming hairdressers was also considered.

 

 

 

Friends forever...Princess's in the making showing off our precious bracelets.

 

 

We have decided we are going to be Princess's when we grow up, funded by the pot at the end of the rainbow.

 

 

What are you spending your pot of gold on?

I am sorry I haven't been around much as you can imagine my time is taken with the Grandchildren but I will catch up as soon as I can.  Welcome to new followers, I hope you have fun following along with my little adventures through life.

See you soon.

Summer Bounty

The weekend was quiet after such a hectic week, but we enjoyed the peace and getting the house back in order.  Our next lot of visitors arrive tomorrow, Lucy and the girls.  Then we are all driving down to Ampthill to Amie's for a barbeque on Saturday.  A day of rest Sunday and Victoria and the boys arrive Monday.  I love the crazy hectic days of Summer.  We still have not been able to book our holiday as Gerard is  on weekly blood tests and visits to the hospital fortnightly.  The right medication has been a little elusive this time round and taking longer than normal to sort.  Time will tell how things progress.

We have been enjoying the bounty from our garden once again, lettuce and spring onions are been harvested on a daily basis.  I have just pulled the last of the broad beans and intend to freeze them for a taste of Summer in the cooler months.

 

I have also picked the gooseberries off one bush and was inspired by a blog that I had read earlier to add a load of strawberries to make strawberry and gooseberry jam.  Gooseberries have a high pectin content so the jam sets rapidly.

 

 

I did pick the last of the strawberries from the garden but I have put them in the fridge for after our meal this evening.

 

 

The strawberries I used for the jam were some that I picked up yesterday on a yellow sticker for 13p a punnet from our local supermarket.  At that price it was rude not too.  I used the River Cottage cookbook recipe for the jam, it certainly reached setting point very quickly.

 

 

4 jars were made for the Winter store cupboard, a wonderful taste of Summer in a jar to evoke the amazing memories of a long hazy Summer filled with love and laughter and lots of rain but I am trying to forget about that.  The tomatoes have been a complete disaster this year, must check back and see what variety we used so not to use them again next year.  We have been lucky, a man sells his surplus from small holding so we are getting home grown, you can certainly taste the difference from those bought from the supermarket.

 

The skies on an evening too are a joy to behold, we have managed to stroll along the beach a couple of times and it has been amazing.  The gentle lapping of the sea as it rolls onto the sand is music to my hears, a stark difference to the crashing of the waves in the Winter months.

 

 

 

Summer at its finest.   What Summer memories do you want to treasure?

 

See you soon.

 

My Wonderful Week

My sincere thanks for all your wonderful comments they were so uplifting to read.  The Christening was a wonderful day that brought our family together for  a beautiful celebration in such a stunning setting.  It was such a shame that my parents were unable to travel but we did send back photos straightaway so that they felt like they were included.  I feel blessed that they were able to enjoy their Great Grandchildren this week, we kept popping in and out so they could enjoy some of their antics.  They love to run riot in Big Grandad's garden and hide behind the shed the three dogs running wild with them.  We have such a good week of fun and laughter, the children certainly kept me busy.  It seems really quiet now that they have all gone but Lucy and the girls are heading here again on Tuesday so for now I am getting on top of the laundry and some cleaning.  I had a stroll out this morning around the car boot sale at Stickney and picked up some additions for the kitchen.

 

A pie dish which is always useful for 20p and a quiche dish for 20p also.

 

 

I had hoped to get some outdoor toys for the children but there was nothing available, I suppose everyone is looking for them.  

 

Some of the highlights of the week were everyday events but ones that were so special because two sisters were together sharing motherhood, it was joy to see the cousins enjoying each others company.

 

 

I just couldn't get enough of these two, they are growing up so quickly.  That dining table has seen all three of my daughters grow up around it, I bet it could tell a few stories.

 

We did some baking on it...

 

 

Oops!  Granny forgot the aprons.

 

That poor table also saw a lot of paint and glue this week too...

 

 

As you see we did most of our projects in the morning before getting dressed and then headed down to the beach.  We were certainly blessed with the weather, it was such a glorious week of sunshine.  We even braved the water and ate sandwiches in the park.  A glorious week that will bring back some treasured memories for many days to come.

 

See you soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekend - Christening

We have had the most beautiful weekend, with lots of lovely memories to treasure for a long time to come.  It was amazing to see all six Grandchildren together, the first time actually.  Moments to cherish.  Victoria and Michael were overwhelmed by your wishes and prayers for Hector on his special day and send their sincere thanks.  They were happy for me to share some of the photos with you.

 

He wore the family christening gown that our daughters had worn, it really meant a lot.  It was a beautiful service and a beautiful church.  The one they had got married in and attend so a full church.

 

 

Such a beautiful little family.  Considering how many children were at the service it really was amazing how good they were, I was one proud Granny.

 

 

Of course I had to have a photo of my three girls together.

 

 

Even Hector was smiling for the camera.  Honey fell asleep when it was her time to be photographed, so we didn't disturb her choosing to wheel her pushchair into the photo.  The joy of seeing those children together made my heart skip.  They were so good wanting to please their Granny, despite not really wanting to have their photos taken. 

 

 

Look at Bertie talking to his cousin, it makes your heart melt.  Wilbur's suit didn't last long, the rest of it came off as soon as we left church.

 

It was a beautiful service, both uplifting and thought provoking.

 

We went to a lovely old English pub garden afterwards for a barbeque, it was lovely to spend some time with them all.  Victoria and Mike were fantastic hosts so it really was a wonderful gathering.  The flowers and décor were beautiful.

 

 

As was the stunning cake and yes it really did taste as good as it looked.

 

Just because, here they all are filling Granny's heart with pride and a love that never falters, they have brought so much joy into our lives.

 

 

 I have to say that Hector was a delight, he took everything in his stride and was a joy to behold.  Smiling at everyone and enjoying all the attention.

 

The final photo is so sweet, brotherly love.  Wilbur was happy to let Hector have such a special day and was the very proud big brother.

 

 

 

A beautiful weekend filled with love and laughter, what could be better?  Once again thank you for your prayers and best wishes.  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

 

See you soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five On Friday

Friday has flown around this week as I prepare for the onslaught of visitors for the Summer.  As we live near the sea it is the perfect venue for a Summer break and we love to have visitors so the next six weeks our house will be filled to the rafters.  A random pick this week of five things that I have captured on the camera as I once again join in the weekly fun lovemademyhome.blogspot.co.uk/ with Amy.

One

Beautiful red skies at night, giving us those amazing hot and hazy Summer days ( alright, mini heatwave).

 

A beautiful sight most evenings this week we have sat out on the patio and watched these amazing skies.

 

 

These were taken early evening from the dining room in the midst of a storm.

 

Two

 

This warm weather has certainly brought visitors to the garden in search of water.  I have been constantly topping off the bird bath this week, even the dog drinks from it.

 

 

Three

 

Visitors to the garden are usually most welcome but we have had invaders...

 

 

...my cabbage patch is no more. 

 

Four

 

A couple of quick sewing jobs this week has enabled me to keep cool.  I have recycled some old lightweight jeans that I never wear into shorts.  Perfect for playing with the children in the garden next week.  I have no doubt shorts will be a far more sensible attire than summer dresses.

 

 

Five

 

Finally all the colour is out of my hair, that really did take some time to grow out.  I am now back to my natural self.  It has been quite the journey.  I now intend to grow it back down into a short bob, which is a style that seem to suit me.  Hopefully that will not take too long now I don't have the colour to keep cutting out, as I am not liking the style at the moment.

 

 

I will catch up with everyone's five later in the day as I am out for most of the day today.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  I have my youngest daughter and her little family visiting tomorrow and then we are all travelling down to Norwich for Hectors Christening on Sunday.

 

See you soon.