The day the diggers came

At the bottom of our garden is some land which for the past, well lots of years has not had much done to it but is home to wildlife and brambles! Just recently we found out that it has now been bought by a fellow villager who is turning it into a garden. Today the diggers came - big yellow machines have been out there getting rid of all the nasty brambles and rubbish that has accumulated over the years and we are looking forward to an even more beautiful view with more trees and the natural pond cleaned up. The owner hopes to re-introduce native species of trees and wildlife which have been lost in the area due to over building and gardening taking away their habitats.

The tree you see in the foreground is now affectionately known as the totem pole tree! It was once smothered with a clematis which was not doing well and neither was the tree, but we think the pruning may have been a little drastic! It now provides the birds with a great feeding station between us and our neighbours! By the way - it isn't our tree and we didn't kill it!

Just a few pictures of the holiday - Action dog on the beach! He loves chasing the ball and the open spaces on the beach are just great for him but he will not go in the sea, at all!

I can't say I blame him, I cannot tell you how cold the sea was! My feet hurt after 30seconds in there!

These are all at the beach in Croyde, North Devon. A great place for surfing and a huge huge beach.

And you just cannot go to the seaside without having some fish and chips! This has to be the best fish and chips I have ever had - from the Esplanade Fish Bar in Lynmouth, I could do with some now actually...............

As I am not nearly near enough to go and get any for my tea, I shall go off and raid the larder for food! Take care all, til tomorrow x

Going AWOL

Morning! Ok so I went AWOL and forgot to tell you about it before I went! It was no surprise to me, the holiday has been booked for a while, I just forgot to let anyone else know about it!

We stayed here in North Devon, just outside Barnstaple in a fabulous barn conversion on a hillside over looking sheep!

This is the view from the lounge window and the bedroom too if you sat up in bed! The sheep you could hear bleating to each other during the day. They were so funny to watch - every now and then one of them would decide that they wanted to trot to the other side of the hill and would set off, whilst making plenty of noise, at which point the others joined in and noisily followed. I'm sure that none of them had any idea why they were off on a trot and then the one that started it all just stopped and started to graze again as if nothing had happened! This just left those sheep at the back wondering what on earth was going on! A bit like when you get stuck in traffic on the M25 only to find that it all starts again for no apparent reason!

This is how the week started

And this is the most tired member of the family who slept all the way home!

Well we did lots and took loads of photos so I'm sure they will be appearing here over the next few days or so!

For now, I have to go and bake again ready for tomorrows deliveries, so I'm off to the kitchen and catch you again tomorrow.

Take care, Sarah x

Those fields of gold

I'm walking on sunshine, yeah yeah! I'm walking on sunshine ooooo-ooo-oooo-ooooo..........

The fields of gold are blooming! Even if the photographer looks like they were out on the razzle last night with the wonky skyline!

It was a misty morning today but the golden glow from the fields was still amazing.

Unfortunately my camera ran out of battery so could not get a close up of this amazing tree just dripping with blossom.

I hope tomorrow morning is just like it was today, I shall be out to get more pics! Going to get on with some of those outstanding projects now, been baking today so need a change of scenery!

Take care all

Sarah x

Exploding Mug Cakes

Last night I went along to a Pudding Party. As the name suggests you take along a pudding, as does everyone else, and then you shop inbetween eating puds! Woohoo, perfect combination! So I had the brainwave after reading Karon's blog at Dream Acres to make my Radio Cake and take that along as my pudding.

First find a suitable mug or two - one for a cuppa the other for the cake.

Gather ingredients together (see Karon's blog for list)

Put them all together, as per the instructions, in your mug. Having first swapped the drinking chocolate you got out by mistake for cocoa powder like it says!

After the alloted 3 minutes in the microwave you will have an explosion of chocolate cake which could earn itself a place in the Tate Gallery! It does, however taste very good, and ready in 3 minutes - brilliant!

I think next time I shall make 2 cakes from this recipe then there may not be as big a clear up job! It certainly was a distinctive pudding when placed with all the other delicious offerings! I took the whole lot, microwave plate included as I thought it should been seen in its entirety!

Just got back from todays event at Tilehouse Street Church in Hitchin, a garden sale to raise funds for their building project. It was a fabulous day with plenty of people visiting to get their plants and gifts. We were treated to a good lunch of lasagne and trifle and even managed to find room for a cream tea this afternoon!

My stall was very well sited under the springtime pictures the children had made of sheep and flowers - it matched my bunting perfectly!

Gilly from Garden Divas was next to me with all her fabulous gardening goodies. If you haven't yet seen Garden Divas then pay a visit to their website where you can find all the glorious girly gardening gifts and treats you could want!

And now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to drink this cuppa and have a wee rest!

Take care all

Sarah x

Buddy's Friday

Margaret from Margaret's Ramblings has added her Buddy's Friday article for this week and I thought I would add my thoughts too. I have followed Margaret's theme of childrens parties but let your imagination run riot and you can host any sort of party! These are games that require a little preparation but not much cost!

Party Games - I love games especially those that result in you rolling around with laughter so here's a few that we have tried and tested.

I discovered this website Party Game Central last year when I was organising a hen party for a few of us girlies. You will find that some of the games are totally unsuitable for your friends but others are an absolute riot! There will be something for you here!

We have played the Malteaser game on a number of occasions, always hilarious (other choccies are available but choose a light one!) The idea being that you have to transfer as many Malteasers from the box into your bowl using only a straw and a deep breath in! Thing is you can only do this once you have rolled a 6 on the dice, until the next person gets a 6 and whilst you are trying to relocate the choccies everyone else is rolling the dice and is liable to snatch the box of choccies away at any time! Beware - there are some folk who are very good at this, others of us can only dissolve into laughter and get no choccies! Alternative is to use a spoon - just as funny!

Pass the pillowcase is another one, not just for kids, oh no. There is a house not far from us where this is played every year at Christmas with the results documented in the yearly family photograph! (you know who you are) Get a pillowcase, fill it with random items of clothing (include snorkels and wigs, hats, gloves and anything else that is dated or outragous) then proceed as you would with pass the parcel. When the music stops that person has to reach into the pillowcase, without looking, pick out an item and wear it in an alternative fashion! The result is a colourful, yet easily dis-ownable family of odd bods!

Find the photos - I chose to do this with printed out photos of the bride to be which had been gleaned from her mum, the older, funnier and more embarassing the better! You could use any pictures you like. Simply cut up each picture into 3 or 4 pieces. Don't make it too complicated but also you don't want it to be too easy! You can use the same picture twice and cut it up differently, especially good if you have a bold colour on one. Take one piece from each cut up picture and keep safe. The other pieces then get mixed up and stuck up around the house on doors, windows, bookcases etc. Do this before the guests arrive and they will see random bits of picture around the house which may or may not help them! To start the game give each guest a piece of picture that you had put to one side. On your sayso they all have to go and find the rest of their picture. When they have found their picture they return to you with completed picture and if it is correct they can have another piece of a new picture to go and find. Keep going til all pictures have been found and the winner is the one with the most completed pictures.

This will involve people running about your house so set the boundries of where the picture pieces will be before you set them off or they will check everywhere!

Better go and get on with some proper work now instead of reminiscing about parties!

Take care all

Sarah x

Message from the cat

Due to the fact that there seems to be a lack of cushion on the table (Mum says it is her work table but I think not - it is my action level sleep zone) I have decided to sit on the next warmest thing which appears to be this surf board shaped object. I don't recal ever seeing one of these before but think it is rather cosy as there seems to be a ready heat source at one end and insulation underneath!
Love from Missy x


So that'll teach me to remember to replace her cushion after using the table to measure fabric!
I'll be picking fur out of my clothes for an eternity! Oh no, I forgot, I don't iron, phew close shave there!

I seem to have rather a lot of projects on the go at present!
This is my strippy quilt which is all pieced together with it's fab panels, measured and waiting for the wadding and backing to arrive.


Then I fell in love with these fabrics too and wanted to make another strippy quilt! You can't quite see all the colours in this picture but they are so soft and gentle it is going to be lovely to work with.

And I have some ideas forming about these fabrics and ribbons, so will be playing about with those over the next however long!

And finally I have at last started some applique work which is something I have wanted to do for ages. Not my usual colours but I do like the look of these and it is nice to use something different for a change.

I am supposed to be sitting at the sewing machine now instead of the computer but am so full after my lunch, cooked by Hubby, that I just need a few more minutes of being still! I'd like another cuppa but I'm too full to drink one!

I may even have to have a siesta................

Take care all, til tomorrow

Sarah x

Time for a cuppa

Right, so I am not feeling at my best today, hence I can be forgiven for being rather tetchy and owning the shortest fuse in the neighbourhood. But there is one thing that really really gets on my wick (was going to say 'gets on my goat' but decided that wouldn't be fair to saddle an innocent goat with any of my troubles) anyway what gets on my wick is this - supermarket checkout operative sending my shopping down the conveyor belt so blooming quick that I will never keep up with the packing in a million years! And then as if that wasn't going to be deemed rude in my book, then they ask if you have a loyalty card, whilst I am clearly still busy getting the super fast shopping into my eco friendly shopping bags as if that is going to make me go any faster. I think not. In fact I will refuse to stop packing and get my card out on principal. Yes I do have a loyalty card and I shall infact present it to you when i am ready to pay which will be when all my shoppping is in its bags and ready for me to be leaving. You see I do know that the process of paying for shopping really doesn't take all that long so even if I did give you my money and that blooming loyalty card whilst my shopping was still strewn all over the end of your conveyor belt I would not be leaving any quicker and the next shopper would just have to watch me remove said shopping after I had paid anyway - so why bloody well ask????!!!!!!!

No I don't think I am being irrational or over sensitive.

Just like I think it was a perfectly good reason to go and get a new kettle once I had decided that a contributing factor in my declining health today was the state of the old kettle from which I was getting my staple diet of tea from. So with that in mind I had to set off from my poorlyness and go and find new kettle.

Did this! Found one which has a suitably large gap for filling up with water - that'll be a lid which so many of the kettle manufacturers clearly think is just a design statement and not a vital part of a kettles operation to be able to be filled with water! and this one has a decent pouring spout, also a good feature in my book! I do not need colours or whistles (although I have always fancied a nice proper kettle on a stove top that whistles) anyway I did not have the time or the inclination to find one of these, plus I had missed out on a few cups of tea whilst I had to abandon poorliness and feeling sorry for myself to go and get this new kettle.

So you can now feel sorry for poor hubby who has to put up with me for the rest of the evening and just hope that I get out of bed from the other side tomorrow!

Take care all

Sarah x who is now feeling a little better having got that out of my system, thank you all x