Old friends

 This is me with some of my old school friends.  I recently discovered these photo's, scanned them & posted them on my Facebook account. I'm friend's with all of them, bar one, on there. I had so many comments about these photo's & it brought us all that bit closer together. We decided to have a mini reunion as one of my friends was coming to visit for the long weekend. We decided to meet up for a quick, yeah right, drink. Who were we kidding.
We met at 6pm & I told my hubby I would be out 'about an hour or two' , I eventually got it in 1.35am! We had such a great time reminiscing about old times & talking about old friends & what people were up to. It was like we'd never been apart. It nice to have friends like that. Our lives are all different but we had so much to talk about. Out of the 3 of that met (& a token husband who came along too!) 2 of us were married, 1 engaged & only I had children. I think with 4 I was making up for the others who didn't have any!
One friend from this picture was missing. I know she out there somewhere & I'm looking for her. She was my bridesmaid when I got married - the first time- but over the years we lost contact. I'm hoping that soon we will be able to catch up.
It was funny because I sometimes look at pictures or listen to people talk about friends they've known since school & I always thought 'wouldn't it be nice to have friends like that'. Then I realised I do! I'm very thankful for my friends, all of them. We may have lost contact & been in & out of each other lives over the years but the important thing is that we are still there. Still there to talk to & still there to catch up & have a laugh. I LOVE friends!

I have the crafting bug

Since Craft Fairy I have my crafting mojo back. My current 'thing' is sewing, especially bags!
I made this last week

I ended up giving it to my Mom as I thought maybe she would like it. I think she liked it! I used this tute to make it. It was only after I made it that I realised it was for a reversible bag & not ljust a lined bag but it didn't matter!
Yesterday I finally made my Cath Kidston bag from this book. I've had the book for a while but have never been brave enough to make the bag. Then a few weeks ago a friend of mine at work had made one & it was so cute I had to have a go. I got the book & pattern pieces out then promptly put it away 'for another day'. A forum I go on has a craft sub forum & some people on there had made it so I decided that I just had to bite the bullet & give it a go. And I did!
The bag itself wasn't lined or anything so I added a lining, & a bit of interfacing too, &  even a pocket for my phone & a pen. The stitching is wonky & it's not perfect- but then that's the joy of handmade, it doesn't have to be! - but I love it. It's so cute.

It's just a small little bag but I'm sure I'll use it.
So after I had made my bag my Daughter, Iona-Mae, decided that she *had* to have a bag. Well what girl doesn't! We set out looking for material & she chose some from my (mini) stash. She requested a bag which was 'like nana's' but that had some pockets in. I came up with this

It had a pocket for a pen & also a larger pocket, one on each side just like she asked for.
I have now had requests from other members of the family. Nathaniel would like a 'bag with 10 pockets'!  & Joshua would like a wallet for keeping money in. Oh yes & Iona-Mae would like a purse to match her bag. So it looks like I'm going to be busy.

Crafty-ness.....

Just a short little post with some pictures of some crafty things I have made. After a long absence from almost anything crafty I got my crafty mojo back. I signed up for a craft fairy. Craft fairy works like this:
You are given a recipient to make a gift or gifts for. You can make them for them, their home or their children. You can make anything crafty & you then post it off & wait for them to receive their gifts! Once the gifts are received then they post pictures. It's so lovely to see all of the things that all of the fairies have made. I received my gift & I got lots of lovely stuff...

The shawl is so soft & snuggly.
Now for my recipients gifts that I made. It took me a little while to decide what to make but in the end I decided on a Kindle cover

It took me 4 attempts to get it right but I think it worked out pretty good.
I also sent her some soap, a new craft for me to try & a tad addictive & also a little lavender heart.

I just realised I don't have a picture of the lavender heart. I ddi however make some other ones for a friends birthday & also for Joshua's teacher at school. So here is one

So...on to teacher's gifts. It was the end of another school year so we decided on a few gifts for the teachers & teaching assistants.

Iona chose an apple & Joshua decided on a hand. His reasoning was his teacher was leaving - to work in Singapore!- & it was his hand waving goodbye. All his idea & a pretty good idea I think. We also made some soaps which they gave to the teachers. Joshua also gave his teacher a lavender heart to put in her case while on her travels.
Last, but not least, Nathaniel was leaving his rather wonderful playgroup. We decided to make some number beanbags.

The nursery loved them & Nathaniel helped by putting in the beans!
So....my crafting mojo is back. I have a huge list of things I want to make & things I want to do with the kids.
One of my latest addictions is Pinterest. For those who don't know Pinterest is like a virtual pin board where you can pin your ideas & things you like. Go & have a look www.pinterest.com I will warn you though..it's addictive.....very addictive!

Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Well we had a busy weekend. On Saturday we had decided to go to Yorkshire Sculpture Park We've never been before but after seeing some pictures that a friend had taken & also discovering that there was a Jaume Plensa exhibition on we decided to go.
Saturday was a lovely day, although it did get rather hot as the day went on. We left later than planned & took a picnic with us.  By the time we got there it was lunchtime so we sat down & had our picnic. Once that was over we grabbed our map & went off exploring the park.
It is massive! So much to see. Lots of Henry Moore. The kids had some activity sheets that the lady in the shop had given them- it was like a little treasure hunt. We enjoyed listening to the kids deciding what each sculpture was. One was everything from an ear to a boat!
My favourite part was the Jaume Plensa sculptures. I just love his stuff. He did a sculpture in St.Helens, entitled 'Dream'  It is commonly known as 'the big head' in our house & is a sign that we're almost at Nana & Grandpa's house. The kids loved it. Nathaniel especially loved 29 Palms.

They were all metal letters which you could run your palms along & it made the most beautiful sound, like wind chimes. Anybody who knows me will know I love wind chimes- the sound reminds me of my childhood & visiting my Grandparents on Bowen Island- I guess they had wind chimes!
I think my favourite sculpture of all was called Urma-Nuria.  It was just gorgeous & looked lovely with the backdrop of the Yorkshire hills behind it. 

We had a lovely day, lots of walking but worth it. I'd love to go back again. The kids seemed to enjoy it to. There was so much to see & I'm sure that there was stuff that we missed. It was only an hour's drive 
& such beautiful countryside. 
Today is not such a nice day. We've had rain overnight & this morning but it seems to have gone off  now so maybe we'll go for a walk later. We have a little 'woods' close by & I have a camera to test out! We're planning on getting a digital SLR camera so are testing one out which has been borrowed.  

It's been a long time.....

I can't believe how long it's been since I wrote my blog! I've been thinking about writing it again so decided today was the day.
Lots has changed. We have moved house - 5 days away from where we lived previously- & we bought this house- our first ever home purchase! We have been here now for about 20 months. We still have lots to do in the house- & out of the house - but we're getting there. Hopefully at some point we'll be able to extend.
Hubby is still working at the same place & I've started work again, part time, in October. I'm loving being back at work.
The kids are growing up fast. Nathaniel starts school in September as Joshua will begin his last year in Primary school.
As well as my work I also do some voluntary work for BFN & I'm also a parent governor at my Children's school.
Well not much more to say but I'll be updating later with some pictures & a 'what we have done today' type post.

Back to school!

Ok, Ok so it's 5 days after the event but, hey, I've been busy! Anyway the kids have started their new school & seem to be loving it! Joshua & Matty have gone in happily every day. Iona has gone in happy but come home disappointed because she can't stay the whole day. From Monday she'll be able to stay the whole day & with much pleasure she'll be able to have a packed lunch straight out of her princess lunch box! The walk to school has worked out ok & takes about 15-20 minutes depending on how energetic we're feeling. So all in all it's been good. The kids like the school so Mommy's happy :-)

Goodbye Millie.

Sadly our little hamster, Millie (aka mrs hamster) died this weekend. The eldest 3 children were at their Dad's house & I checked on her on Saturday afternoon & she had died. We made her a little box & on Sunday the kids buried her in the garden. We only had Millie for around 6-8 months & had 'adopted' her from a friend of a friend. Not sure exactly how old she was but she was about 2.5 years old at least we think. So good bye Millie :-(