Melting, she did good, and plans.

1) It snowed again last night, and we reluctantly met for a cuppa instead of our planned walk. As we drank our tea, we realised that the snow was rapidly disappearing, and we went out for our walk after all.

2) M was one of the narrators in her school concert today, and she did incredibly well – word-perfect, every word clear and audible, and a beautiful smile on her face the entire time.  Definitely a proud Mummy moment 🙂 .

(Megan has just written an account of her concert here…)

3) Planning our holiday – good fun!

Cold, green, and dentist

1) It’s cold when we set out to walk, but we go anyway. On the way back, we walk into the biting wind, and through a couple of flurries of snow. Still it was good to be out in the fresh air, and we felt the better for the exercise :-).

2) I dusted off the leaves of two of my favourite plants this morning – they both look so much brighter and greener and happier now!

3) The trip to the dentist (for A, M, and I) was quick and straightforward. No problems, nothing to worry about, a cheery dentist, and we were all done and on our way in a matter of a mere fifteen minutes! 🙂

Promise, something different, and reprieve.

1) I bought some flowers today to brighten up the house – beautiful, fairylike freesia in daffodil yellow and snowdrop white. Most are still buds, full of the promise of things to come in the days ahead.

2) Having finished both my knitting projects, I started on a sewing project I’ve had sitting around for a while.  Based on this pattern, I’m making myself a bag. It was nice for a change!*

3) It snowed practically all day, but stopped just long enough for school pickup at 3pm 🙂 .

* I did have to cast-on for my next project this evening though!

Hard at work, snow evening, and making rope.

1) A’s class has an open afternoon at school today and I arrive to find him hard at work, creating a “Wanted” poster for William Wallace (for King Edward 1). Around the classroom are examples of the work they’ve been doing as they’ve learned about this section of Scottish history – it’s all excellent, and it’s really clear how much they’ve been enjoying it.

2) Throughout the day, it snows and melts and snows and melts and snows and melts… By evening, as the temperature drops, the snow begins to lie and we decide it would be foolish to risk taking A to Cubs, and K heads out on foot for his meeting. Five minutes later, I receive a phone call telling me that the meeting is cancelled. I call K on his mobile, and he returns home. I’m glad to have everyone home, safe, and out of the weather.

3) I need to make some rope (out of yarn) and find this article explaining how to do so. Realising that I need a reasonable amount of rope, K pulls out the power drill to assist with the twisting. It works beautifully – in a matter of mere moments, I have a length of beautiful homemade rope, which coordinates perfectly with my rock-climbing teddy’s outfit! (Check back for WIP Wednesday tomorrow if you want to see pics!)

Daffodils, friends, and outside.

1) K brought me some daffodils the other day, tightly folded into their buds. After a day or two in the warmth of the house, the buds are opening, and the beautiful golden heads are starting to emerge.

2) Friends came round in the evening, and we each made progress on our various crafts. It was good to spend kid-free time together, to work together, to share together, and to talk.

3) Sunshine, and snow. The hills surrounding us are beautiful, sprinkled in white, reflecting the sunshine. The day closed with a lovely sunset, and then the stars came out.

Fun in the snow, Burns Supper, and staying in.

1) On Friday it snowed properly for the first time this winter, but the forecast suggests that it will be pretty much gone by Saturday so, even though it was past bedtime and it was dark, we let the kids play outside. They started out playing with a friend, building snowmen in both their front garden and ours and then, after he went in, they moved to the back garden and started building an igloo…

Igloo buildingAidan and Megan's igloo

2) K and I attended our first Burn’s Supper – certainly an experience, just not entirely sure if it was repeatable one though! But I’m glad we went!

3) By the end of a quiet day spent (mostly) inside, I realise that my cold is a little better…

Snow, bless you, and warm.

1) As I drive east, I find the snow. (We seem to be in one of the few areas of the country not to be hit by snow in the last week or so.) It caps the hills, carpets the grass, and turns the world into a winter wonderland.

2) I sneeze just as I walk past a couple of ladies in the shop (the cold I’ve been fighting for several days has got the upper hand today 🙁 ). “Bless you”, they say.  I smile, and thank them. It didn’t alter the progression of the cold, but it made me feel better 🙂 .

3) The comforting warmth of a hot wheatie.

Snowflakes, inside, and Making Monday.

1) From inside, the snowflakes swirled and whirled making beautiful patterns, as they slowly drifted downwards.

2) The reality of being out in the snow was less than beautiful however, and I’m extremely glad that I can take my boots off, safe in the knowledge I don’t have to go out again this evening.

3) It’s been another weekend of, amongst other things, baking and making.  I made dark chocolate brownies, once again for the youth group at church. They didn’t quite manage to finish them this time, but they made serious inroads! I made a Italian toasted pine nut cake, a new reecipe on me, but smells delicious!

I’ve made some progress with my Jupiter Clapotis, and I’m making Megan’s Big Sister dress longer…  She loves it, but has had the sheer ingratitude to grow over the last six months, and the dress is really too short now 🙁 . So I’ve ripped out the bottom band and added a few extra cms in length. I worried that the yarn would look different, but it actually looks okay, so I’m reasonably hopeful that it will be okay once I’ve re-blocked it! Here she is when it was just completed a mere six months ago!

IMG_9432

Right, now I’m off to see what other people have been making over at Natalie’s YarnYard

Watching, snow, and experiment.

From yesterday:

1) M runs from one side of the house to the other shouting with glee, as she watches the snow steadily drift earthwards.

2) Snow fall covers the world in a pristine white blanket.

3) An experiment: orange génoise cake, filled and frosted with orange cream cheese icing. If the silence that fell across the room as everyone tucked in was anything to go by, the experiment was a success.

 

Snow, happy, and anticipation!

1) The rain clears, and the Ochils become visible for the first time in several days. In the sunlight I realise that the hills have been dusted with a fine sprinkling of snow – the first of winter!

2) A arrives at the car at lunchtime, full of smiles and happy. He’s had a good morning. 🙂

3) I’m off to pack!  We’re going away for the weekend, and I can’t wait!