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Wednesday 19 August 2009

Making the most of a dull day

Today was grey, quite hot but grey, so we thought about home type stuff, getting back into our home edish space rather than holiday space. A asked for a dress for a doll that I made months ago but was abandoned for a while, so we got out our 'knitted babes' book and chose a pattern, fortunately a very simple one involving only rectangles. A received an owl sewing kit (from http://www.buttonbag.co.uk/ ) and decided to make the baby owl. In the meantime T, in need of more masculine pursuits made a solar windmill, I'm not sure I understand why anyone would need a solar windmill but it kept him happy and the blades turned in the end.
Spelling has become a popular passtime at the moment. Although some people might find that odd I have to admit to having loved spelling tests at school, each to his own hey. As it happens speaking out words for others to spell sits quite nicely with sewing so we were all happy, and when they got bored with that Boggle came out.
This is A's finished baby owl (there are two larger owls still to make). It is absolutely gorgeous and she could do it all by herself with just a little guidance a thoroughly wonderful kit, she now wants to spend some birthday money on a rabbit kit from buttonbag.


One dress, of course wasn't enough...

So a green one was necessary for the doll that actually used to belong to T but her ownership is unclear these days.

And the beautiful pair together in their new bridesmaid's dresses, a somewhat shaky young wedding photographer but lovely nonetheless.
I love peaceful days like this where one activity seems to gently lead into another, we even had half an hour of novel reading, A with Pippi Longstocking and T with Airman by Eoin Colfer. My own book of the moment is by Jonathon Coe 'The Accidental Woman' which I am thoroughly enjoying, really funny and clever too!





Monday 17 August 2009

woodland, beaches and reading

When the sun is out we remember why we live here. There is nothing quite like beaches for passing time...


... except perhaps for our nearby woods, fully equipped with rope swings. I can never quite understand how someone puts a rope swing so high on a seemingly unclimbable tree, I am sure that the technique is explained in Swallows and Amazons when John makes a lighthouse but I didn't take it in and it seems more exciting when you don't know. That said, we all appreciate the efforts of those who do know how to do it and have made the effort to magic those swings up there.

Despite the beauty of the outdoors I can't help having a hankering for being curled up on the sofa reading my un-put-downable book by Stieg Larsson. I have never been able to read on the beach, the sun gets in my eyes, I have to keep turning over to lean on my other arm, I'm too hot, so I have to do my reading in those infrequent moments at home in the summer. I would recommend 'Girl with a dragon tattoo' as a winter book, when there seems to be much more time for not putting your book down.

Saturday 15 August 2009

Beaches and Birthdays

A problem I have always had about blogging is my inherent laziness with technology. I am really too busy to download the thousands of photographs that the children have taken to find the three I have taken. The beachy weather and lots of birthdays and visitors means I haven't written here in quite some time, I could be referred to as a sporadic blogger. But when the sun's out in Cornwall you have to get out there, after all, you never know when it might rain again.
So cousins in the woods in wellies (one split welly leads to a one wellied cousin) to celebrate my 9 year old little girl's birthday.
And cousins on a kayak celebrating the same. I failed to take pictures of cousins celebrating by singing and dancing a 'hoe down' but it happened and it was wonderful.

And then it was time for the big 16 for my eldest, which was celebrated on the beach with kayaking, food and fire. Now all the birthdays and visitors are gone for a while perhaps I will write more frequently, but on the other hand the sun is coming out tomorrow and the beaches are calling yet again.