This Week

It's been a quiet week here with everyone now back at university, work and school and feels as if we're finally back into the rhythm of everyday life again. The Christmas cake and chocolates are all finished now and after last week's daffodils finished flowering I headed off to buy some more. I couldn't find any, but came home with these lovely deep pink roses instead.



I've been a bit restless creatively and have been trying to work steadily on J's blanket (I don't know why it's taking me so long - it's not very big). I think it's because I know it was meant to be finished back in September so it feels like an autumn project. And I have a confession to make. Remember I said that I would not begin making anything with this yarn until the blanket was finished? Well, it's been calling to me from my knitting bag all week, reminding me that it's very soft and a lovely shade of icy blue, just perfect for making something in January, don't you think? How could I resist? Yes, dear reader, you knew I'd give in didn't you? I've decided to make a cowl and knitted a few rows of moss stitch which is my favourite stitch 'just to see what it will look like' (that doesn't count as starting another project, does it?)  I don't knit as often as I crochet and tend to keep it pretty simple stitch-wise, enjoying knitting rhythmically in front of the tv without having to give it too much thought.

I love the chalky blue colour - it's called 'Foggy' - and the soft texture (it's a linen/cotton mix).

This week we've had a good deal of rain, with some bright moments of sunshine thrown in. Here's yesterday morning's view from the loft bedroom window. It was actually snowing but it didn't settle, melting as soon as it landed. We're still waiting for snow here. It snowed on Wednesday night but didn't settle then either, much to the great disappointment of local school children who were hoping for a snow day. 

This morning was bright, sunny and cold when I opened the blind, and there were the most beautiful fern-like shapes on the outside of the glass which sparkled in the sunlight. They were difficult to photograph, but I just about caught them, I think.

Since outdoors has been so cold, wet and dark I've been tidying up indoors and thought I'd show you our dresser. It used to be an orangey pine colour, so a few years ago I painted it blue, a sort of lavender blue which we'd used in the bathroom (it was one of those any-surface paints). I was very pleased with the results and it's stayed blue ever since. My dad gave me his old pale yellow china coffee set to put on it, and I've picked up pastel-coloured china over the years to display on it.

It does make me happy to use it, and it's a very cheerful item of furniture to have around. The pretty colours on it really brighten up a dreary day, and throughout the year I like to put small pots of flowers from the garden on it. The very large fruit bowl (above) is actually part of a washstand set that would have had a matching jug and belonged to my great-grandmother. She was born at the end of the 19th century, and I have very faint memories of her from when I was very little, so it's lovely to have it in our home. There are lots of flowery things on the dresser.

Some of the pretty plates are from charity shops, or have been handed down to me, and the rest of the china jugs and cups are presents or souvenirs.

On the kitchen windowsill the pots of bulbs are blooming and smell lovely, scenting the whole room and bringing a bit of spring into the house.

The hyacinths are a lovely pure white, fresh and fragrant.

This weekend my oldest, B, has turned 21 and she and her boyfriend came home so we could all go out for a celebratory meal. J was able to pop back from his uni too, so it was lovely to briefly see them all again. It really doesn't seem that long since she was born, and feels strange to be the parents of grown adults, but wonderful to watch them flourish and make their own way in life.  I made her a quick birthday cake with jam, buttercream, lilac icing and sugar snowflakes. As you can see it went down well!    

It's been a good week here, with a lovely mixture of creativity, colour and family togetherness. You can't ask for much better than that, I think. Right, I'm off to do a bit more tidying and sorting. See you soon x