Beachiness and bad barbecues

Hello! It has been a busy busy week for us, and I have only just had time to sit down and write about last weekend.

We had some friends over with their scrummy baby and took a Sunday trip to the beach. Let's have a barbie, we said, the weather's been great, we said, let's eat up the last of the wagyu beef on the beach, we said.

Well, we had an hour on the beach. The four of us adults spent half that time wrestling with an oversize wind break, which we eventually realised we could not use because it would not stand up in the soft sand. The bears climbed the rocks, underneath the big sign saying 'DANGER, DO NOT CLIMB ROCKS'. The adults sat on the blankets and drank coffee. The kids dug sand near the blankets. The sand ended up in the coffee. The coffee crunched.

We stoically ordered W to light the barbie. A beach warden poked his head over the sea wall and said we could not have the barbie on the beach, we had to go up onto the grass above. Which proved useful because that way W (down to his last match) met the Polish man with the parafin who lit the barbie for us while nearly losing his eyebrows. (Don't try this at home folks!)

With both our husbands being important with a barbecue, My friend and I were left with:

4 children on foot
1 baby in a large buggy
4 blankets
2 bags of clothes
1 enormous bag of buckets and spades
1 bag of shoes
1 cool bag full of posh beef
2 picnic bags
1 VERY large hamper

-to carry back up to the picnic area. We managed it- needs must, and the weather had started to turn and we were hungry.

Sometime later W slapped several chunks of wagyu beef down infront of us. Mmmmm. Really good. The treatiest of beef. We savoured it. For about three minutes. Then it got Windy. The baby started crying. Custard cut himself with a butter knife. Miss T started a mantra of 'Me freeeeezing'. We wrapped her in a blanket. Then the plates blew away. Then W said: Ooh, if you look over there you can see the rain. It'll be here in about eight minutes.

It was there in seven.

W and our friends scooped up all five kids and ran for the cars. I played donkey and carried the luggage. I got wet.

Do you know, we had A Great Day! Loads of fun, truly unforgettable...for whatever reasons!

Hope you had a great weekend too, whatever you were doing...x

Recent yumminess

Hello folks!

I have just downloaded my camera and found a couple of pics of Dinners We've Had. Two stand out for me- one, a meal enjoyed with good friends, much wine, bad music and a 70s vibe. It finished with a slice of homemade black forest gateau. Thin swiss roll sponge, bitter chocolate mousse, sweet cream and a tin of cheap and cheerful cherry pie filling. So. Good:

The other was a meal W made for me one night after work. Tuna steak, courgettes, new potatoes and hot tomato salsa. It arrived accompanied by the words (Quite pointedly, I seem to remember): Look, I love you so much I actually found fish in the shape of a heart.

So there- I am loved...x

New old toys

Hello! Hope you have had a happy start to your week. I am back at work, so the fun stuff has stopped rather (though I did manage a blustery bike ride this morning, with Miss T sat behind me shouting 'Mam, Me co-o-o-o-ld! Mam!' repeatedly). Anyway, here is a post I wrote a week or so ago and then forgot about. A sweet memory from my childhood:

When I was really small I had this game...

I had forgotten all about it until today...

Toot found their old box of Flounders lying around and thought the wild bears would like it...

I don't know about them...

I LOVE it!

Have a great week...x

Lovely Lion

My smallest nephew has his first birthday this week so I made him this:

This is the Sleepy Lion by Irene Strange. It took me AGES to make because the mane was so fiddly. In the end I did a major nine hour stint, followed by three hours the next night and got it finished. I am REALLY pleased with the result- I just hope my scrumptious nephew likes him.

*****

Unrelated:

Today W, Miss T and I went on another bike ride- twenty miles! Along to the nature reserve, then back the other way, aaall the way to the other end of the seafront, stopping on the way for a ginger beer and a packet of peanuts at the pub. Hurrah!

Hope you have a fabulous weekend...x

In the saddle

Today W, Miss T and I had a Big Bike Ride. The big three were in school, the sun was shining, so we hopped on our bikes and headed down to the seafront for breakfast:

Oh yes!

This was my view:

We rode the entire length of the seafront (about five and a half miles) to get to here:

A lovely bit of beach that we don't normally visit as it's a bit of a pig in the car. I had forgotten how beautiful it is.

Miss T fell head first off the ramp and put her teeth through her lip- much blood and many tears ensued. But, my brave girl was calmed down with the promise of an ice cream.

The fence goes out for really long way into the estuary. I think it is the remains of the one they built in the war to stop the U-boats coming up the Thames.

I got some really daft tan lines on my feet, due to the overly technical strapwork on my sandals.

Altogether we cycled about twelve and a half miles today, and I am feeling pretty pleased with myself, because I did it with a small person on the back of my bike too. Though I did run out of steam half way up the hill to get back home. I got off and pushed for a (short) way. The shame!

We have been doing some Ooh-I-wish-I-lived-here local sightseeing too:

The house on the right here has an orangery. I want an orangery! No simple conservatory will do now- there needs to be an orangery in my future!

The world from a bike- wonderful. Such a great morning! x

A big weekend for bears

Hello! Hope you had a lovely weekend. We did!

Mud run...hanging out on the beach with the best kids ever...W and Lulu coming back to shore, wet and muddy...Adventure Island...FHB in the Best Place For Him...rollercoasters...old skool fun...new fountain on the seafront providing much entertainment for all...also-two birthday cakes; an evening with great friends and many margheritas whilst watching the Eurovision Song Contest; fish n chips; a slap up curry...aah- good times...x

Orthopaedic interlude

10 am (ish)
Me, to my colleague: Ooh, my shoulder really hurts. It feels like there's something catching in there.

4pm (ish)
Surgeon, to me: What's wrong with your shoulder? Have you hurt it?

Me, waggling shoulder: Well, I don't know what I've done, but it really hurts.

Surgeon, grabbing arm: Let me have a look. (Holds arm up). Does that hurt?

Me: No.

Surgeon, moves arm: What about that?

Me: Ow. It sort of clicked then.

Surgeon: Well, you've clearly got something catching in there. (Departs stage left).

Thanks!!!

**********************************************************************

On a different note, I have just (literally just- my hook is still hot) finished the lion for my smallest of nephews. He's a very fine lion- photos to follow. I am very pleased!

x

Dinner date

On the guest list:

W, FHB, Mouse and myself.

Venue:

The beach.

Time:

6pm til bedtime-for-bears.

Menu:

Homemade pizza with parma ham and olives
Strawberries
Jelly

With orange juice or fruit smoothie to drink.

I LOVE living by the sea! 

x

Bad blogger

Wow, I'm not getting much blogging in at the moment am I? I need at least another three hours in the day. At least!

And then there's the camera situation...I suggested to W that I take my poor sandy camera into Jessops to be repaired but he reckons it is probably not worth it. So now I am angling for a smart phone with a decent camera on it (and sat nav). I think I may have quite a long wait. And it is a bit annoying because W's SLR is really waaaaay too big to cart around every day on the off chance of taking a quick snap of something interesting. And of course, I can't be trusted with it!

Anyway...hopefully normal service will be resumed shortly- in every aspect of life in this house of wild bears...x

Avoidance strategy

Last Friday, Royal Wedding day, at my parents'. Two small boys, not much interested in Princes and Princesses:

:: In sixteen years living in that house, it NEVER occurred to me to climb the willow tree. I feel ashamed.

:: Me: Be careful boys. Don't fall out of the tree, I don't want to drive to A&E.
  Boys: studiously ignore their mother.
  -Some time later...
  Me: You look a bit ruffled Custard. Are you alright.
  Custard (really pleased with himself): Oh yeah. I just fell out of the tree.

:: Only one injury incurred- a monster stomach scrape for one FHB who obviously found it harder than Custard to get out of the tree.  

:: Why have they got a golf caddy up the tree? Answers on a postcard...x

A windy airfield and my Mushy Peas cardi

Hello, Hope all is well in your world today. I still have a shocking cold and feel yuck, but I went with W and the bears today to see Toot and Papa go gliding. It was brill! I would LOVE to have a go one day too!

The airfield was Very Windy indeed and the bears all gathered in the boot of Papa and Toot's car to eat Polos and Pom-bears and watch the gliders. (FHB: Cor, not everyone's granny flies a plane!)

I wore my Mushy Peas Cardi, so I finally got W to take a photo of it- which is why the photo is quite so dreadful. (Forgive the sad face- I don't feel well and my nose is red red red. Also, I do not actually have a toucan's beak growing out of my head...)

The pattern is from The Crochet Closet by Lisa Gentry. Not sure about the rest of the book, but it was worth it for this pattern on its own- I Love It!

Three things to add:

1- I am not a tiny person, but the sizes on this pattern are so generous that I made the smallest one. And actually, I could probably have made it a bit smaller. A little bit of me is quite pleased about this.

2- As I put my cardi on at work the other day, one of the girls said 'Ooh, what a lovely cardigan', allowing me to have a most enjoyable Thank You I Made It Myself moment, which made me even more pleased indeed.

3- Some bright spark who runs the hospital has decided to paint the walls the same colour they are on the map. Which means that the walls outside my department are pea green and I look as if I am camouflage in my lovely cardi. Which makes me not quite so pleased after all. Especially because, on the walls, this colour looks like it should be in a bad public toilet.

Anyway, I am a happy girl and am putting this right back in my Ravelry queue to make another one. Perhaps avoiding a toilet palette next time!

x

Still...

...enjoying being back at work
...paradoxically, hoping my tenure will not be for too long
...trying to work out how you fit in work, kids, house, husband, a social life, a blog, a hobby...
...feeling tired
...consequently feeling like a bit of a flake
...got a cold
...have not got around to photographing my pea green cardi (which I LOVE!)
...making squares
...hooking a lion's mane (time is running out on this one)
...can't remember where I put my glasses
...haven't got around to recharging my Kindle, because I'm so knackered come the evenings that reading is way down there on the list of Things To Do. Which makes me Very Sad.
...enjoying browsing lovely houses we can't afford on Rightmove (with a Nice Cup of Tea)

Don't get me wrong folks, life is good- I'm just tired, sniffly and my feet are cold. Normal service will be resumed shortly!

P.S. Despite all the above, I really enjoyed the Royal Wedding on Friday. I sat and watched it with my Mum, while the kids romped around outside. (FHB: Hmph, well I don't care about that stuff). I did care, and it made me very happy to see something nice happening in the world...x