T'is the Season!

I'm a bit late doing my weekly post so it's really lovely to sit down now while the children have gone to the playground with dad. All I can hear is the birds in the garden and it's wonderful! Having two unwell small folk this week has been full on, we're all feeling a bit flat. But the sun has come out today and it's just gorgeous. Amazing how it can lift flagging energy levels!! Still, I did manage to get my hook out for a few little projects I wanted to try. The first was just a little jar decoration because I had this cute silver thread. So out came the hook and I had a little play and this is how it came out. Having looked at the photo now I think I need to put it on a prettier jar!! Then again, recycling of any type is pretty cool and my littlies think it's just lovely!

It's a good use of all the jam jars I've got stashed in the back of my cupboard! Will definitely make a few more and line them up along our fireplace.

Now that we are coming to the end of the year and it's time to think about little gifts for friends, teachers and neighbours - I couldn't wait to whip up my first batch of this delicious Christmas Rocky Road. I made it last year for the first time and it was dangerously good.Best of all it's easy peasy. Melt white chocolate, then to the bowl add chopped pistachios, dried cranberries, white marshmallows and coconut. Mix it all up, pop it onto a lined tray and press down slightly and then it's into the fridge to set. Once it's cut up and put into a pretty wee box it makes for a lovely homemade pressie. I'd certainly be pleased to receive it!!!

Although I have to say it's a very bad time of the year to be nibbling at this when you live at my end of the world. It's Summer which means shorts, sun tops and swimming togs - eeeeek. I had two Christmases on the other side of the world and I loved being able to disguise any Christmas weight gain under layers of lovely Winter clothes!I almost forgot, I also made some of these cute little bauble covers that I spied in the latest AWW magazine. It's a cute pattern by Pip Lincolne and they look really sweet - well Santa here looks happy to be on a neighbouring branch anyway!It was so nice to get these wee cuties out of the attic last week. I posted about these last year when I'd only just started doing my blog and at the time, I didn't want to take them down after Christmas! Tiny wee stockings - what's not to like? And while I'm in the festive spirit - it seemed only right to get myself an early pressie. This arrived yesterday in the post - a new cover for my phone and I absolutely adore it. How utterly girly. I couldn't decide which one I loved most so I got a blue one too!! Naughty! I'm loving this warmer weather, the garden is bursting with new veges and berries appearing every day and you have to be very quick to nab a raspberry before Miss 4 spots them. These pretty roses are neglected every year but constantly reward us with a huge amount of buds. I'd like to think that there is something in that - but I'm guessing it's a fluke and it won't get me out of neglecting the rest of the garden! Darn it. We also got our very first strawberry this week! Small but delicious. I adore strawberry season soooooo much. It's one of my fave foods ever. So it was a total shock to the system during the week to have some wild Wintery weather hit us that meant we needed to dust off our gumboots to do the school run. Miss 4 and I looked perfectly ready to deal with the puddles on the way to collect Mr 7! We even needed to have the fire on which is crazy considering today we can't cool down enough and have every window and door open. That cold snap meant it was perfect to work on my blanket. Bella had the same idea and quickly made herself at home amongst it.

Now as I keep this blog as a kind of diary for myself, I needed to write this as it has been such an emotional week. Amongst all the Christmas preparations there has been a lot of sadness. Yesterday I attended a funeral for a wonderful man I used to work with. He died in a tragic diving accident last weekend and it has absolutely shocked everyone who knew him. Eric, you were a gentle man and a true gentleman and I'm so glad I had the chance to meet you - you will be missed so very much. xx

Have a lovely week all. See you again soon.
Leah
xxxx