Snow in November in the South East of England is rare, but it's what we woke up to this morning. No where near as much as what they have further north, but still. There's at least a cm out there and it's the sort of snow which sticks to tree branches giving things a wonderful wintery look. Little Miss C is fascinated by it all. Her breakfast was significantly slowed down today as she was far more interested in looking out of the window than eating her porridge. ... read more
In love with … Radio 4
As much as I completely love my daughter I have to admit that if we're just the two of us at home together then the conversation is a bit one way. I'm sure she has some very deep considered views on the state of the country and how the coalition government is working out, but at the moment she seems to be keeping those views to herself. After several hours without adult conversation I do find that I need something to keep me sane and a re-discovery of Radio 4 is meeting that requirement rather well. No where else can you get such a range of audio delights and a typical day can ... read more
Money, Money, Money…
When I first started this blog (over 2 years ago now!) I had no idea quite where it was going to go. Looking back my life has changed a huge amount since then and so has this blog. I started off writing about the things in life that make me smile and in a way that's what I still aim to do. When I started though I have to say that I wasn't too sure quiet what I would end up writing about! Of course I had some initial ideas, but once those first few posts are written you really do need to think a bit harder as to what else to write about. I never imagined quite how many book reviews I ... read more
Proud of the BBC
I've seen the #potbbc hashtag in use on twitter for a while now, but have to admit that until tonight I had no idea what it was all about. Oh boy have I been missing out. In short, the fabulous Mitch Benn has written this wonderful song all in praise of Auntie! I'm a softie who has been deprived of sleep these last few nights, but even without that I still felt a lump in my throat when I heard this tonight. The original video's pretty good, but this version created with pictures brings it all to life a bit more. At times like his I'm proud to be British, and a TV ... read more
One Good Turn – Kate Atkinson
To say that my reading has slowed right down since LMC was born would be an understatement. This is only the second book that I've managed to read in five months. Yikes! Years ago I remember reading Kate Atkinson's Behind The Scenes At The Museum but strangely I remember very little about it. When my MIL passed me One Good Turn I again recalled reading BTSATM, but no more. One Good Turn felt familiar from the first page. I'm guessing that the Edinburgh setting must remind many of Rebus and as someone who loved Ian Rankin's detective that was certainly the case ... read more
Book memories
It's funny how some things from childhood can evoke such memories when you see them again years later. Mr C visited his parents with LMC over the weekend and came home with four books that had belonged to him and his brothers when they were all small. The three Janet and Allan Ahlberg books (Peepo!, Each Peach Pear Plum and Cops and Robbers ) are ones that I don't remember (that doesn't necessarily mean I didn't read them!) but they instantly reminded me of one of my favourite books from that time: Funnybones. The Tiger Who Came to Tea is yet another children's book that ... read more
Autumn colours
Another blogging break, but this time due to a family holiday to Northumberland and Little Miss C's first holiday. A lovely trip where we were fortunate enough to have amazing weather for this time of year. The thing that stunned us most though was the autumn colours that we were delighted to see wherever we went. Even the trees along the sides of the A1 were beautiful! Nature's autumn show may not last long, but whilst it did it was stunning. The trip itself provided a lovely opportunity to catch up with my whole family and to spend some precious moments with them. LMC also had her ... read more
Winter pansies
With all the wet weather of the last 24 hours it seems hard to imagine that just a week ago I managed an afternoon gardening. Most of the time that we've lived in this house (over a year now!) I've been either pregnant or juggling a small baby. Neither completely prevented gardening, but when the garden was such a blank canvas that most of the work was heavy stuff it did mean that I didn't get to do much. Mr C has done a fantastic amount of work out there to turn it into (half) a proper garden with borders (have I told you all about that yet? Possibly not!) so I can actually ... read more
Autumn Clean
You hear of people having a Spring Clean, but I think I'm currently in the middle of an Autumn Clean instead! I've got a strange desire to tidy, clean and sort things at the moment. No idea why as it is very unlike me. One area that has got a lot of attention lately are my sewing and knitting stashes. They'd got a bit out of control lately with piles of yarn, fabric and threads all threatening to fall off shelves whenever I went looking for something. Some lovely (cheap) storage boxes from Wilkos helped and certainly look much better on my shelves than the precarious ... read more
Life
As some of you know, this blog's had to take a bit of a backseat lately due to family illness. Many thanks to those of you that have been in touch and the support you've been giving me recently. It really is appreciated. Life in the C household has not slowed down though and one of the biggest developments over the last couple of weeks is that Little Miss C's appetite has become so great that we've moved on from just milk and she's enjoying her first solid food. Baby rice, baby porridge and pureed carrot are the extent of her menu so far, but so hungry is she that she had ... read more