Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Good old bank holidays..............rain, and then more rain and finally today the sun shone.........Hooray!

It's been a busy old weekend, we had the scouting centenary family camp near Oxford on Saturday which was great fun although I'm surprised the tent didn't float off down the forest! There were loads of activities for the kids to do, a great BBQ in the evening and despite the weather and the cold (boy was it COLD!!) everyone had a great time.

We were camping with two other families we know so after the children had gone to bed (remarkably early for our children - I think they just wanted to be warm!) we opened the wine and six of us sat huddled in the porch of our tent and kept the other campers awake until the wee small hours.

I'm not yet in the "blogging" frame of mind so although I took the camera I didn't actually take any photos. Ian and I took part in the crate stacking which involves being harnessed and climbing crates together until they collapse. It was like watching two old people helping each other onto a bus. Ian was particularly upset because I fell off first and then proceeded to swing into his stack and kick him off - shame!

The tent is now in the garden drying off from it's first outing this year, actually it's nearly as big as the garden, looks like some sort of weird air raid shelter!...........

So, we were all excited about camping again this year and promptly went to the local camping store and looked at new tents - Ian was suffering from severe "tent envy" whilst we were away. Does anyone have any suggestions about a good tent to buy, needless to say "gadget man" is attracted to the sort that pop out of the bag in five seconds flat but I'm looking for one with ensuite facilities and a walk in wardrobe!

Today Jack decided he wanted to be a "red indian" or native American - I'm not sure what you call them now. So we made a head-dress complete with feathers, loaded him up with bow and arrows and we were all set..............that is until he announced he needed a tipi to make his life complete! Off we go into town to buy the bamboo canes and came home and built this.......

Now I was pretty pleased with this effort. Needless to say the children sat in it for five minutes, got bored and bogged off, leaving me to complain about the youth of today and how I would have sat in it for hours blah, blah blah!

Tomorrow my sister arrives for a few days so I probably won't be near the computer for a while. We'll catch up soon!

Well, let's start off with a lovely pic of some peonies (I think!) that a friend gave me last week. They're only just beginning to open and they are the most gorgeous colour.

It's been a weird week and I have been a bit slack in posting, the time just seems to have gone. On Monday K had her first session on her own at pre-school. She was pretty excited about the whole thing and went along quite happily. I thought that seeing as she's number 2 it wouldn't affect me as much as taking my first born along for the first time. How wrong I was!

She was fine about being left because we know one of the helpers there and she distracted her nicely. So I walked out of the door without my baby, leaving her in the hands of others, and I felt totally bereft. Apart from the odd few hours where friends look after her, or the stays at Grandma's we are never apart and boy-oh-boy did I miss her! It was the strangest, saddest feeling as I walked home alone without my chatty little companion.

The house was silent and what did I do? Instead of making the most of my time alone and sewing or reading I hoovered the stairs like a woman possessed! Now, hoovering is my least favourite pastime and we have a lot of stairs (we live in a very tall, thin house - not a big house!) so I don't know what I was thinking about. It was a sort therapy and did take my mind off the silence for an hour or so.

I was so excited when I went to collect K and when I turned up she looked happy scooting about outside. Her face lit up when she saw me and she ran into my arms. Needless to say my eyes filled immediately and I gave her the biggest hug possible.

Let me add that I am not an "earth mother" type. My children drive me crazy quite a lot of the time and I do find myself running and hiding in certain parts of the house at times, desperate to be alone. I also look forward to the post 8pm part of the day when I can turn my child friendly brain off and switch into adult mode. However I find the letting go bit really hard. I think it's the fact that a new phase is starting in my childrens' lives, they do grow up so fast and I don't think there'll be any more babies to fill the space. I hope I'm not turning into a sad old woman who lives her own life through her children and has nothing else!

Enough, enough I hear you cry! On a more positive note look what I got out of the shed for the first time in 3 years.............

I am a new woman - with two wheels! It's been walk to school week and J takes these things very seriously. We always walk apart from Wednesdays when K and I go to baby gym in the car. In no uncertain terms I was told we COULD NOT take the car because of the damage we would be doing to the environment. So, out came the bike complete with throne for K. I've never taken either of them on it before, I always leave it to Ian, I was a bit nervous of falling over. Anyway I did it and I am completely hooked. I've been cycling all over town, give me any excuse and I'm off. J follows me on his scooter (we've still to get him on a bike!) and we're off. We get to school in half the time, it's fab!!! Of course being totally over ambitious I overdid it a bit the first time out and halfway up a big (not that big to be fair!) hill I thought "actually I'm a bit hot and a bit tired!" but had to carry on regardless.

Bit of a long, drawn out post that one, I will try to get some nice pics for the next one. I'll finish with this one of a little picture I did for K.

Yummy cake recipe

As promised here's the cake recipe. Unfortunately I sent the last one off without taking a photo so we'll have to do with a photo of the tiny magazine cutting I've got in my recipe book. I have to get into the photo taking habit! I also should add that my cake looks nothing like the picture but it tastes delicious so who cares?

Ingredients

225g/8oz caster sugar

225g/8oz butter

4 medium eggs lightly beaten

grated zest and juice of 2 limes

250g/9oz sifted sr flour with pinch of salt

200g/7oz raspberries

For syrup

8tbsp lime juice & grated zest 1 lime

140g/5oz caster sugar (I never use this much, normally 1-2 tbsp)

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180/gas 4

2. Cream butter & sugar until fluffy

3. Beat in eggs gradually, adding a little flour towards end

4. Fold in rest of flour

5. Beat in lime zest and enough juice to make mixture fall from spoon when tapped

6. Fold in 3/4 raspberries and pour into buttered 20cm/8" square tin (I always use greaseprrof on bottom to prevent disasters!)

7. Scatter rest of raspberries on top

8. Bake for approx 1 hour - use skewer to test it's cooked through

9. Make syrup by gently heating lime zest, juice & sugar in small pan until sugar has started to dissolve. Do not allow to bubble

10. Prick cake all over with skewer and pour juice on

Voila! One gorgeous cake with little effort, which is just my sort of baking! This one always seems to turn out ok, even though my mixture curdles, as it does with every cake I bake.

It looks lovely and tastes even better.

Let me know how it turns out.........

I can hear music.............

.............well, not quite!

Look what we got yesterday! A local church was getting rid of pianos so we couldn't resist. My friend who plays the piano could not believe that I wanted the painted piano, but I love it, it's the colour of vanilla ice-cream, and it goes so well in our playroom.

Not one of us can play an instrument or read music but you've got to start somewhere! J was totally disinterested until it arrived and now he and K are fighting over it (surprise, surprise!). I'm hoping it might spark a bit of interest in him and encourage him to learn to play something. I never learnt as a child and I regret it now. My friend Helen has lent me a book for children (about my level) to have a go with, so who knows - move over Liberace (I know he's long gone but he's the only pianist I could think of!)

Anyway, it's a great addition to the house, it took a bit of furniture rearranging and squashing things into already overloaded rooms but it looks like it's been there for years. I just want to get on it and have a go, but as soon as my bottom hits the chair I have two extra little pairs of hands to "help" me!

As a thank you to the church and Helen who organised the whole thing I made some cakes tonight for the tea dance. No.1 the plain old victoria sponge was a total disaster, all flat and pasty looking. I'm hoping with lots of strawberries and whipped cream and a generous smattering of sugar on top it will look edible. No. 2 a lovely raspberry and lime zest cake seems to be foolproof even with my hit and miss baking skills. I'll post the recipe shortly.

Lastly thanks to everybody who's left such lovely comments so far. It nice to think I'm not just wittering on to myself as usual!

The simple things.........

I picked these from the garden, can't afford real "shop flowers" but actually these look really cute I think. They're K's favourite colour so they certainly bring a bit of cheer to a bleak day.

Yesterday I felt so much better. K and I decided to collect J from school in the pouring rain. So, we donned wellies, raincoats and K got to use her frog umbrella. As I walked along behind and watched her splash in puddles and really enjoy herself my heart just lifted. It was one of those moments you have as a mum when you see things through your childrens' eyes and realise what a great place the world is (does that sound a bit schmaltzy??)

I made some great bread (recipe from vintagepretty.org) before J came home. Normally my bread involves a lot of swearing, sweating and not much success. However, even if I say so myself, this one was a triumph. We sat at the kitchen table and ate it still warm, with butter and mackerel pate (Sainsbury's not home-made!). K declared it "dishlishush" - praise indeed! As we were sitting there the sun broke through the clouds and poured into the room, a very simple and heartwarming 15 minutes full of catch-up and chats about life, it doesn't happen often enough. Of course there was the usual cup of tea accompanying it. Whenever I have a spare minute I make a cup of tea, don't drink half of them, but it's a habit. Still I suppose it's better than drugs, gambling etc.! Bit of a rock and roll lifestyle I lead, eh!

Just had to put this photo in. Love the shoes, they clomp up and down the stairs (terribly dangerous I know) and round the kitchen, normally pushing a shopping trolley laden down with bits gathered from around the house and other general detritus.

Thought I'd sneak in a picture of my favourite cupboard. I know it's not a corner of my home but it'll do. I love it, you can squash so much into it. I spend so much time when I'm sure I could be doing something much more worthwhile decanting pasta into glass jars that no-one sees because they're in this cupboard. But sometimes I just open the doors and stare into this cupboard like a lunatic, probably need to get out more really!

Tomorrow I've something new to show you, here's a hint, not too difficult really!

By the way if there are spelling, grammatical etc.mistakes through this blog I apologise, I have no idea how to use spell check so I just publish it and hope for the best!

Check out my list, I've added a few more delicious blogs to it.

Under the weather........

Yes, I know we needed some rain, but a little bit of sunshine would be welcome again!

It's been a mixed weekend. Ian has been away cycling around Wales for two days. As he left on Friday I started feeling a bit off colour, by Saturday morning I was well and truly stricken. So, stuck in the house with two bored children, pouring rain outside and aching all over. There was only one thing for it - a visit to the dvd shop! Three dvds later and we were all feeling better! I watched one called "Friends with Money" starring Jennifer Aniston and really enjoyed it.

We also managed a trip to the local coffee shop where the children flung themselves and biscuit crumbs around for a while, whilst I enjoyed a lovely cup of coffee. The owner is very understanding!

On Sunday I decided to pull myself together and actually play with my children, so out came the paints, glitter etc., and this is what they produced.........

J's clown (looks a bit like Daddy actually- notice the monobrow)

K's er.. ummm "thing" - notice the choccie biscuit, great artists need sustenance you know!

We then went swimming and came home and I fell gratefully into an armchair. Today Ian took a day off work and I have stayed in bed until now, something I don't normally do. What is it about us women, we seem to carry on until we drop, when actually sometimes we should just stop and say "you know what, the world will not grind to a halt if I'm out of it for a while", so I'm back off to bed with a good book, a cup of tea and some nice white toast loaded with butter.......

Before I go I should really tag 4 others, but everone I read has already been done, so I've only got 2 - pathetic eh! Here goes...........

sal

and

charlotte

7 weird things about me

Well to limit it to seven may be difficult, ask my partner Ian and he'll tell you there's nothing normal!

Here goes......

1. I'm never ever on time. Every clock in our house is set fast but all at different times so I never actually know what time it is. I'm always very optimistic about how long it'll take me to get anywhere, which invariably leads to me swearing at whoever is in the vicinity because I can't find my way/parking space/car keys/bag etc.

2. I can't stand orange juice with bits in - "hairy bits" as my daughter refers to them. Same with yoghurts with strawberries in, I'm always a bit suspicious that they may be dead spiders!

3. I've watched the film "Truly, Madly, Deeply" about 100 times and know it word for word. If only Alan Rickman would recite poetry to me!

4. I never have any money in my purse, even for little things like newspapers. I find myself scrabbling about down the sides of sofas and leaving iou's in the childrens' money boxes in order to buy a pint of milk.

5. I'm obsessed with food portions. I cannot let Ian have a bigger portion than me, so after I've dished up I normally take a bit extra off his plate and stuff it in my mouth before he spots me, just in case!

6. I am so hopelessly disorganised that I am unable to do anything without a list, even so far as leaving notes in the kitchen to remind me to eat something that's in the fridge. Many's a time that I've discovered a mouldy piece of cheese/fish/ham etc. languishing in there!

7. I have a complete inability to follow instructions whether written, pictorial or verbal. My brain seems to say "can't be bothered" and switches off. Is this as a result of my 6+ years as a stay-at-home mum or simply an age thing?

So there you go, a bit about me and my weirdness.

What do I do now. Am I supposed to tag other people, please could somebody let me know?

Car Boot Joy!

What a great weekend! The weather managed to stay dry for two bbq's, so we ate ourselves silly and drank just a little bit too much and all in all it was lovely. We saw friends, the children played until late and tired themselves out brilliantly.

Saturday morning we went to the art gallery at our local museum which is holding an exhibition of the local schools' artwork. Jack had a picture on display as part of his school's project. He was so proud, and because for once in our lives we were organised and got there early, we also saw the grand opening by the mayor and Jack had his picture taken for the local paper. It was just one of those days that turned out to be perfect without us trying too hard, if you know what I mean?

Sunday is car boot day. I went down to the one I go to regularly and was a bit disappointed (still managed to spend though!). Then a good friend, Andrea called to ask me to go to a new one with her. I went along with 60p in my purse promising not to buy any more "tat" (Ian's word for my treasures). What a treat was in store! There were goodies galore. I had to borrow from Andrea - what a pal! And here's what I got..........


Some lovely trim


A really cute tin

Some gorgeous linen embroidered napkins

A whole load of vintage childrens books

And a big piece of gorgeous fabric.

WHOOPEEEEE !!!! - What more can I say???????

By the way, I've been tagged. What do I have to do? Help!

Inspiration

One of the things that's really been a surprise to me since I started looking at blogs was how inspiring they would be. I think I went into it all with a slightly scathing attitude, why would anybody want to write about themselves and who would be interested? It's been a real eye opener, there is such a sense of community about the whole thing, there are so many links between the blogs and people are genuinely interested in what other people are doing.




I think one of the most amazing things is that it's such a positive thing to do, the comments you receive are so encouraging and helpful. The world we seem to live in, as the media reports it, can appear a depressing place, especially if you have small children. I do worry sometimes about what sort of a place we've brought them into and what the future holds. However I am a positive person who deep down has always believed in the good of people and I think blogging has sort of proven that. The generosity of fellow bloggers towards each other and the way in which people care about each other makes me feel optimistic towards the future.





The other great thing about blogs is that it's reawakened my creative spirit which has been hiding behind sleepless nights, nappies and housework for too long. Reading about other peoples lives and how they fit it all in has inspired me to get creating again. So with this in mind I made this...........................
With a bit of jigging about with the lining it all went together pretty well, another bag to add to my collection!




This was a project from a book many others have recommended, there are loads of things to make and thankfully most are quite straightforward. For some reason I don't seem able tio follow written instructions very well, and I always seem to pick a bad moment to start making things. I tell myself it'll only take 1/2 an hour, I'll squeeze it in before bathtime whilst the kids play, knowing full well it's a 2 hour project and I'll just HAVE to finish it, which ends in my screeching at the children and turning into the wicked crafting witch. Am I the only one?

Another book I must recommend is this, it's great for novice embroiderers like me, very simple and easy to follow.

I can't wait to start on some projects out of this one.

Here's hoping for a sunny bank holiday weekend!

The garden beckons

The sun has been shining for days now so the time has come to venture into the garden and try to do something creative with it. We only have a small garden, typical of a terraced house but I think it could be lovely. Only 3 weeks ago it was a compete tip, all the grass had gone and it was full of broken toys (no pics unfortunately so I can't do the garden makeover before and after shots!)

Then a man came with wheelbarrow loads of topsoil and rolls of turf and transformed it in a day. Okay, we're not quite ready for Chelsea yet but believe me it's a vast improvement....

Now all I need to do is add some plants. I've been and made a few purchases but to be quite honest I'm clueless when it comes to plants. I mean I watch Gardener's World but that's mainly so I can admire Monty's big hands! You can just see some of the perennials I've planted, they're not looking too thrilling at the moment, but I have great hopes. Any tips for great plants would be gratefully received. My problem is that I'm just too impatient and gardening is one of those things that takes time. So I'm trying to train myself into not going out there every five minute to see if anything has grown yet.

More successful have been my meagre selection of pots, here's a peek.........

I think auriculas are one of my favourite flowers. This little one had been ignored all year but when I moved it to it's new spot it suddenly gave me all these gorgeous flowers. I will be nuturing it from now on!

Geraniums are another favourite so I can't wait for these little lovelies to blossom.

Does anybody know what these are? I bought them years ago from a garden centre and they have flowered faithfully year on year but I don't have a clue what they are. (Note the space hopper in the background, sort of spoils the effect!)

Finally I have planted a few pots of various salad leaves. I'm always totally over excited when anything sprouts, I come over all evangelical and drag the children over to see my efforts. Needless to say they're a bit nonplussed about the tiny seedlings, but I love them!

I had a bit of time today whilst Kitty slept to firstly sit in the garden and read my new books, hence I now have minor sunburn - why do I never learn? I also managed to make a new cover for my car boot deckchair so I now have somewhere to laze on those hazy summer afternoons, glass of Pimm's in hand (who am I kidding?).

Don't you just love the feeling that summer is on it's way?

A family weekend

It's been a great few days. Firstly the Sudeley castle fair was lovely. No sign of Liz Hurley there but I guess the wedding's over! I managed to pick up a great little mail box from the Caroline Zoob stand- totally crap picture, taken at night as usual......

I don't think the photo does it justice, it is lovely, honestly, although I have to admit my friend did say "£12 for THAT?" when I showed it to her. Each to their own, I say. The funniest thing was the lady who sold it to me (not Ms Zoob herself I presume) said "Oh, they're just fabulous, you can have 1 for each member of the family and just take them off the wall and carry them up to the study to sort out your paperwork". I wanted to say "Lady, I can't afford four, and by the way what's a study? - we just have a kitchen table"

Jack had a great time for about an hour, then he was ready to go, just as we were getting into the swing of things. So, I placated him with his very own...........fly swatter, he was thrilled although he did seem slightly too keen to whack me on the bum with it.

We had a great weekend with grandparents, the sun shone and all was well. Kitty helped her beloved "Poppy" plant his runner beans........

and I dug up a few of his plants to kill in my garden.

We spent Saturday at Churchtown near Southport (home of Louise Loves) which has beautiful botanic gardens. The children love the trains and boat rides there. We then went off to the beach at nearby Ainsdale to have ice-creams and play in the sand. Of course, virgin blogger as I am I didn't take the camera so alas, no photos.

Came back to, joy of joys - more books, namely the "Crafters Companion" recommended on so many blogs, and a couple of embrioidery ones - pictures to follow.

Gifts galore

Look what arrived in the post yesterday...............

I read about this on posy's blog. It looks a lovely book but I have to have time to sit down alone without interruption to savour it - highly unlikely in this house. Sunday mornings are normally my "alone" time, Ian takes the children swimming and I get a cup of tea in bed and an hour or so to myself. Nobody tells you before you have kids just how precious a bit of time to yourself becomes.

Another by-product of child rearing is the complete inability to retain any information. I used to mock people who made lists, now I'm one of them. And blogging needs its' very own list. So, I keep little notepads around the house to write down whatever I need to remember as it comes into my brain. Where do all theose brain cells go? Enough moaning, I would never be without them and love them totally (most of the time).

Another lovely gift I received was these little beauties.......

from my fabulous sister Sarah. Aren't they cute? I have them hanging in my kitchen. Don't you just love getting presents?

I've been looking forward to today for ages. It's the Spring Fair at Sudeley Castle, which is like a smaller version of the Country Living fair. Childcare had been sorted so I could go with a friend and enjoy all the stalls. However a bit of a spanner has been thrown into the works because no. 1 son has conjunctivitis (probably spelt wrong) and cannot therefore go to school. Needless to say he is thrilled to bits and will be coming with me, which means no gossiping with Maureen but also that I get to spend a bit if time with him without his little sister which is pretty rare.

We're all at my parents this weekend so I won't be able to blog, but I will take my camera in case anything exciting comes up.

Just one more thing. Jo sent me a comment and mentioned that anyone not registered as a google blogger had to register with them to send a comment. I'm hoping this has been rectified. Could someone with a typepad or other blog just send me a comment just so I can see if it's sorted. Much appreciated. Also, Jo, I can't get onto your blog from the comments. If poss could you let me know the http.// name.

I LOVE this room!

Finally, our kitchen is more or less finished so we have gone from this.....

to this..............
It finished on time, of course took at lot more money than the initial £2.50 we'd anticipated but we love it! It's the first home that we know we will be staying in for a long time so we decided to bite the bullet and create something we really wanted. The builders were fantastic and the whole project ran smoothly. Of course we'll never be able to go on holiday ever again or actually feed the children but who cares! This room has become the hub of family life, and it keeps the children from sitting on the cushions in the living room - am I the only one with a weird obsession about small people squashing cushions flat?

Here's another couple of views of it if you're interested...

Notice the plates (see 1st blog)

So we're mortgaged up to the hilt, thank goodness charity shops are still cheap. Finances can be quite tight when only one of you is earning but fortunately neither of us are into flashy cars or expensive holidays. This year we shall be dragging the trusty tent out of the shed again and wheeling our way over to Wales with friends, praying for good weather. The children love it and to be honest if the sun shines on us there's no better feeling than sitting in a blanket under the stars with good company and a few glasses of wine.

Of course if it pours down that's another story completely!................

My favourite spot

This is one of my favourite spots in the house. It's where I sit to read, sew and generally laze about. I definitely need some practice taking pictures, although I did take this at night which doesn't help. (notice the pram wheel in the background - I think I need to think more carefully about setting the shot up before I take it)

Today has been written off as a "getting anything done" day. I ended up on the phone for hours to my sister and a good friend who moved away a couple of years ago, therefore totally neglected any form of housework apart from a cursory swish of a sponge around the bathroom to make me feel better.

We've all been laid up with a horrible sickness bug over the weekend, so there's been plenty of bed covers being washed and little pale faces looking mournfully at me, and that was just Ian! We're over the worst now and life is back to normal. Jack is back at school so it's just me and Kitty at home "Mummy, why our house on pooter?" - she's a novice to blogging as well as you can tell., not that I ignore my 2 1/2 year old to read blogs you understand!

I've spent far too long poring over blogs this evening which I will pay for at 5.30am with my little wake up call. They are just so inspirational, one in particular I found tonight which I'm sure many of you have come across is treefalldesign, I am amazed by the talent of so many bloggers, it fires me with enthusiasm. I just have to work out a way to get the kids and the hubby out of the house for a couple of weeks!

Tomorrow I will try to take some decent photos, but for now I have to get on Amazon to order "Crafters Companion" - I keep reading about it, trouble is I might just have to order another one at the same time to get free delivery. Decisions, decisions..........

My latest finds

These are the latest treasures found at the local car boot (not a very good photo). There happened to be a lady with a van load of fabrics and bits and pieces from France so you can imagine I fell upon her with great delight.

The aprons are so gorgeous and useful too, what more could you ask for?

The weekend has been a delight in many ways. Firstly we had fab weather which always helps, we had friends around all weekend, and yesterday our son was in his first scout parade with his fellow beavers which made us so proud, although he did have a bit of a wobble when he had to walk at the front of the parade!

Today I took our daughter for her first look at pre-school, life is moving on too fast. This is the first time she'll have been in a nursery type place so she was a bit nervous but I tried to remain upbeat for her, although inside I really don't want to let her go!

Many thanks to Suzie for her first comment on my blog. I'd been waiting with baited breath for that first one, so phew I'm glad it arrived. I think I may be in danger of becoming addicted to these blogs, every time I go on a new one there are 20 more to look at. There's also so much for me to learn - eg. how do you put a blog link into your post, and how do you put picture into the books you're reading section, any suggestions will be gratefully received.

My first posting!

This feels a bit weird, deciding to write about yourself on a computer, especially if your knowledge of computers is as limited as mine - ie. about dinosaur level!

I thought I had to give it a go, seeing as I've been spending hours looking at other peoples lives on blogs it only seemed fair to add mine. No doubt you'll see a fair few typing errors along the way, bear with me, I haven't been at work for a long time so I'm a bit rusty with new technology, I think I'm probably the only person without a mobile phone on the entire planet.

So.............I'm 36 (nearly 37 - how did that happen?), I've got two lovely children of 6 and 2 and a very patient and understanding partner of 11 years, Ian, who doesn't mind spending his life surrounded by others peoples cast offs, although he draws the line at "dead people's plates"- his words not mine.

I love fabrics, tins, plates, sewing, making, drilling, cooking, dancing with my children when no-one else is looking, walking in the countryside, shopping, eating and the odd glass of wine that we all deserve at the end of another long day. I have no ambitions to be rich, famous or powerful, basically because at heart I can't be bothered, I'd rather be folding fabrics and counting buttons!

Here's to the start of what I hope will be a happy blog...............