Well, my noisy, funny, messy, hungry, lovely boys are back to school
the house is eerily quiet and empty
and I am trying to catch up on all the emails, work and chores
that I have largely ignored for the past 7 weeks.
It’s going to take a while…
but, it’s good to be back.
P.S. We now have a woodburning stove and carpet in the lounge.
 
 

The plumber has been!
We’re glad we waited for him,
because this is what our pipes look like.
 
 
 
 
 
 

This vintage colander
planted with little Alpines
is just about all the gardening I’ve achieved recently.
And when I say ‘gardening’ I really mean
tipping the un-drunk water from our dinner glasses on it before we come in for the evening.
 
P.S. I’m just home from teaching at The Fat Quarters near Newcastle- thanks for a lovely weekend!
P.P.S. Still waiting for […]

After 8 years we’re finally decorating our lounge.
We’ve had a wood burning stove fitted
and have chosen some rather bold wallpaper as you can see.
One day, when we’ve got carpet, furniture and curtains I’ll show you what it looks like finished.
But, I wouldn’t hold your breath- I’m still waiting for the plumber to show up. If only […]

Well, that’s what the estate agent called it.
In reality it’s just a gap big enough to house the washing machine and tumble drier.
But at least it’s got an interesting wall.
Over a year ago now, I painted round the boys and Tony and I.
Then I asked them to draw their faces and write their names and ages too
hence the comb […]

Another week has just flashed past.
My house looks like someone has picked it up and shaken it vigorously.
Which is a bit of a worry because we have friends coming for the weekend,
and I like to pretend that we live in a stylish, clean home.
I haven’t been food shopping yet either.
So, why I’m calmly sitting here posting penguin doodles I […]

I love toast.
And I’ll often eat it standing right next to the toaster 
which I’ve always considered a bad habit
until yesterday
when the crumbs in the toaster caught fire!
So I threw it in the back garden.
Which seemed like a very sensible thing to have done
until Tony came home and asked why I hadn’t just put it in the sink under a running tap.
?
It seems […]

For ages, I’ve been looking for a laundry basket 
big enough to hold our washing but at the same time
small enough to fit in our bathroom.
And had basically given up hope of ever finding one.
But then Martha Stewart came to the rescue.
Another small victory for home sewing and thriftiness!
 
 
 
 

So, here’s another glimpse of our bedroom.
We have a cast iron bed, and a lovely feather duvet and (sadly always un-ironed) white bed linen.
After much agonising,
we also splurged on these beautiful mirrored bedside tables 
and I’m so glad we did because look what they do with our weak British sunlight.
 
And of course, I needed a coaster for my tea cup. 
So, I took […]

 
 
Thanks for all the lovely comments about my scarf
and the wallpaper I’m standing in front of.
The wallpaper we eventually chose (after much discussion) was ‘Wolcott’ from Laura Ashley.
It’s a really sunny, warm yellow. I thought it was a bit too bright at first, but I love it now. 
You can see a glimpse of our bedroom in […]