Stones, holding hands, and mystery.

1) The decorative stones at the front had been all messed up after the snowfall earlier this week.  A and M spent a few minutes tidying the lawn up and putting the stones back where they belong – it looks so much better now.

2) Sometimes A and M seem so grown up, especially when they are just chatting and discussing stuff.  But they still want to hold my hands as we walk home from school 🙂 .

3) A friend came round for dinner this evening, and brought a lovely plant as a gift.  At the moment it is just three green shoots – I wonder what they will become…

Just an ordinary weekend.

Three Beautiful Things from the weekend:

1) To garden – clearing away the weeds and preparing the garden for winter.

2) To go through the pile of accumulated mail, filing, sorting, organising, and preparing for the week ahead.

3) It was a soup and sandwich lunch at church. The hall was so full that they had to bring in extra chairs and tables, and the chicken and veg soup was delicious!

Jumping high, out for lunch, and trainspotting

1) A comes home full of excitement on being allowed to try for the full-height vault tomorrow at gymnastics.

2) The weather was warm and dry, so we spent the morning at the park, followed by a picnic lunch, and a tramp through the bush at the edge of the park.

3) He’s got a garden model railway in his back yard – all the models, and trains, are handmade by him. The kids were enthralled, especially by the live model steam train!

Timing, hard at work, and extra sleep.

1) The door bell rings before 9am. It is the postman with a parcel containing the yarn I ordered yesterday afternoon! The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, as I needed one of the new balls of yarn this afternoon.

2) While I iron, K takes the kids outside to do some gardening – they lift the decorative stones, dig up the dead roots of the tree which came down in the storms, replace the membrane, and plant 3 tiny new conifers.

3) I begin the day with a lie-in, and I begin the evening with a post-prandial nap – clearly the events of the past week have caught up with me, and I look forward to feeling all the better for the extra sleep!

Garden, tidy, and crocus

1) Hidden away in a corner, a tiny garden bursting with the colours of a rainbow of primulas.

2) The kids finish dinner and clear away the dishes, and tidy up downstairs. All without being prompted to do so.

3) The crocus that M brought home has opened up in the warmth of the house. Its beautiful white petals encase glorious golden stamens.

Restart, no coat, and changing leaves.

1) To finally have the time to re-start a stalled knitting project – I’m making the pattern up as I go along and I’ve finally worked out how to do the next bit :-).

2) To walk out in the sunshine in October, without a coat, and to not feel cold.

3) The leaves on our Japanese Maple tree are beginning to drop, reminding me that autumn is well and truly here, but the leaves on the Hebe, which have been gloriously green all summer, are now burnt orange and red.

Half-price, one thing less to do, and slowly

We’re back from holidays now (actually home for a couple of days) but I haven’t had a moment to sit down and write my post-holiday beautiful things review yet. That, complete with pics will come, but for now, here are today’s three beautiful things…

1) My rotary clothes drier (whirlygig to those in Scotland) broke irrevocably today). I went to buy a new one, and discovered that the one I wanted was half-price.

2) To look out on my garden and feel a sense of peace… after a visit to the garden centre, Mum and I put in a couple of hours of potting, re-potting, clearing the weeds and generally tidying up.

3) The golden sky, framed by baby blue, highlighted with grey clouds. Night falls slowly in Scotland at this time of year.

Pretending, lush, and quiet.

1) We visit the Scottish Railway Preservation Society museum this afternoon, and it quickly becomes evident that the kid’s favourite activity is the Royal Mail coach, where they twice spend ten minutes pretending to be mail sorters as the train hurtles its way from London to Edinburgh.

2) Thanks to the warmth and all the recent rain, the grass in the back garden is dark green, long, thick and luxurious 🙂 .

3) The shop is quiet, and no-one disturbs me as I browse. Sometimes late-night shopping can be fun!

Plans, Complete and Peace

1) “I love it when a plan comes together.”… A had a plan for the morning, he stuck to it, it came together and, as a result, he went to school calmly and without tears. I’m very proud of my wee boy today.

2) An FO (Finished Object)! I’ve been trying out my hand at sewing recently and have just finished making M this wee dress. I’m quite pleased with it (I certainly learned a lot!) and she loves it!

3) As the golden sunlight fades against the deepening blue sky, a gentle breeze blows, birds sing in chorus , and the scent of freshly cut grass fills the air. Gentle, peaceful, lovely.

Home again!

1) We had a fantastic holiday, but it’s good to be home again too 🙂 .

2) In our absence, the garden has burst into blossom – the cherry trees are dusted with pink and white, the daffodils and tulips are lifting their faces to the sun, the leaves on the acer are richly red…

3) We have a quiet couple of days, unpacking, restoring the house to rights, enjoying our own beds.

PS Pics and our holiday 3BT will follow shortly!