anticipation...

Today, I drove across to Cambridge to see a friend; her baby is due any day and I wanted to get her pressies over there in time.

Such excitement in those last few days before your first baby arrives, that mixture of apprehension about how it will all go, combined with the feeling that you just want to get on with it and be a bit more comfortable, and slight disbelief that a whole new person is going to enter your world and change life forever very soon.

Took me back 24 years and made me feel a bit wistful... not that I have any desire to be there again now! But its such a special time and I can't quite believe it was such a long time ago - and we were young and optimistic and full of anticipation about what the future would hold. Suddenly feel a bit sad and old!

It was lovely to share my friend's excitement and nerves though. And she loved the blanket :-). So much so that she had to have a little practise with it in the pram that is just ready and waiting...

And that made me feel really glad. And very happy that my little bit of handmade love could be shared and appreciated.

Worth the drive in the snow there and back!!

Sx

Catching up: part 2 - therapy...

I have decided that any number of things can be therapeutic... Sometimes its just a bit of blue sky, a chat with a friend, a good film or a nice piece of music. Comments on here always give me a little buzz! Still find it quite a novelty that anyone is out there reading my mutterings and love the connection across the 'airwaves' (or whatever it is we connect across!!) Anything can provide that lift really but, for me, sometimes I have to remind myself about the good things. I know I've said numerous times I have a bit of a thing for flowers - I love the colours and the shapes and their sheer 'in your face-ness' of them at times!

The next few photos are a bit of combined therapy - not only are they flowers but they were taken with my upgraded iphone, which has not a bad camera at all and I was having a bit of a play!

It has a surprisingly good capacity for zoomed shots. Sunny nasturtiums (the ones that survived the slug attacks!)...

This pretty rose climbs all over one side of the garden, intertwined with the simple briar rose in the following photo...

I expect at some point I may have to tackle pruning this but at the moment I am enjoying the mass of colour and scent...

I think this is jasmine which is scrambling through the roses - it smells gorgeous...

Now this might be a bit weird, but I even think these flowers on the potato plants are really rather beautiful...

Even looking back at these has brightened my day! There was even a bit of sunshine when I took these pics and the sky today is lead grey! Here's to floral therapy!!

Sx

little things...

Sometimes the little things are the best.

Today, we (son 1 and I) spent a couple of hours in the city - a little bit of birthday shopping, a little bit of woolly shopping and a lot of chatting.

Feels as though we haven't done this for ages and it was so nice to spend a bit of time with my first boy, who has so quickly become a truly lovely young man.

We talked of dreams and hopes, laughed about family quirks and just 'enjoyed'.

Delicious strong coffee and dark, sticky ginger cake in my favourite coffee stop, and a Choice of gluten free cakes for B! Always a cause for excitement, although definitely more common now than it used to be. (he went for cherry and almond muffin, by the way, and proclaimed it delicious)

Cold, bright winter sunshine lighting up the catkins on the hazel tree...

It looked like it was dripping with gold tassels; winter treasure.

The rest of the day was consumed with usual 'day off' tasks - cleaning, washing, cooking, sorting bills etc - not so enjoyable in themselves but a definite sense of achievement when the house is  clean, the finances are as in order as they'll ever be and the beds are made up with fresh, smooth sheets...

Which is exactly where I am off to now...

Sx