This time last week I had no ideas quite how I'd be feeling today. The last four days have been full of adventure and firsts for the whole C family. We've just returned from a short trip overseas. Our first trip abroad with Little Miss C. Her first trip in an aeroplane and the first time all three of us have shared a hotel room. I'm delighted to say that we've not only survived the trip but I'd go as far as to say that we've enjoyed it and LMC most certainly has. I can't say that I've come back feeling relaxed or quite like I used to do after a holiday, but then ... read more
Reason for not blogging #721
Several times in the last week I've sat down to write a new blog post only to find that my broadband has gone down again! Our connection has been all over the place recently: up for ten minutes, down for five, repeat until the user gives up. Fingers crossed it stays up long enough for me to write this post. Just checking emails has been hard enough this week... ... read more
Why books?
Someone referred to me the other day as someone who blogs about books and I suppose that had me puzzled. I do blog about books, but hadn't really realised just how much I blog about them until I looked back at my blog myself. You see the thing is that books are a big part of my life and always have been. As a child I used to look forward to bedtime as that was when I could curl up with a book and enter a whole new world. When I started this blog I was commuting into London daily and had loads of time on the train to read and was getting through books at quite a rate. Since Little Miss C ... read more
Gran and her biscuits.
When I started blogging here over three years ago I had no idea if people would actually read my blog or not. I certainly had no idea what would be popular with readers and I'm still amazed when I see what people searched for to come across my blog. There is one post seems to attract more hits than all the others though - Gran's Ginger Biscuits. Now I know that they are completely delicious, but I didn't realise how many people were in search of ginger biscuit recipes! I've had some lovely comments and messages from people saying how much they like them, so if you ... read more
How to have a baby without it costing the earth
It seems I'm now the mum of a toddler. How did that happen? Fourteen months have passed by in a flash and I'm suddenly realising that there's a whole batch of new mums coming along behind me that I can share some of my experiences with, so that's exactly what I want to use this blog post to do. The press is full of articles about just how much it costs to raise a child here in the UK and it is true that compared to life before children our house now contains much more than it used to, but it is not necessary to buy everything on the lists that baby shops produce and there are ... read more
Reason for not blogging #649
Lightening strke taking out wifi. With things being so busy at home I'd been saving up posts that I wanted to write until a planned trip up north to stay with my parents. Sadly it was not to be though as on this visit there was a distinct lack of wifi internet access. The cause: a lightening strike two weeks ago which hit this tree in their garden (details from a nature viewpoint here on Mr C's UK Nature Blog) and also took out their phone line, wireless router, TV aerial amplifier and DECT phone. It just goes to show how powerful nature can be! ... read more
MIA…
Apologies for being Missing in Action yesterday. I had one of those "growing older events" to celebrate... Chair in its new home, and cushion a birthday present from Mr C, purchased from We Love Cushions. ... read more
Not every blogger is perfect…
I read quite a lot of blogs, some might say too many, and one thing that does always come across from them all is just how perfect other bloggers' lives seem to be. Photos show homes that could easily be found in the pages of a glossy magazine. Mums manage to juggle a brood of kids with a full time job, setting up their own business, undertaking numerous crafty projects, baking cakes daily and keeping a perfect home (Oh, and blog every day too!). Vegetable plots where everything grows exactly as it should and there are no weeds to be be found between the lettuces. Life isn't really ... read more
Being one
Two weeks ago this gorgeous little girl turned one. A special milestone, but one which seems to have come with a complete step change in ability from Little Miss C and more changes for the whole family. Whilst she has been crawling since she was about six and a half months old LMC hadn't really shown any interest in walking. What was the point when you could crawl as fast as she could and carry anything you needed in your mouth whilst doing so. Two days after her birthday though that all changed and suddenly there was a new way of getting around that she was keen to try out. First proper ... read more
My studio
I've been wanting to use those words since we moved into this house nearly two years ago, but finally last night I had a permanent place to keep my sewing machine. (Mr C - if you're reading I'm claiming squatters rights now so if you want the space back then tough!) This cabin at the bottom of the garden was where the previous owner of the house used to teach music therapy to autistic children. When we looked round I instantly knew what I wanted to use the space for, but once we moved in other jobs took priority and then Little Miss C came along and it went to the bottom of the to ... read more