Birthdays, family & fun times!

I'd like to start this blog post by wishing my fiancé a Belated Happy Birthday on my blog! I didn't get round to posting on the day because we were so busy. It was a lovely day & I've got plenty to share! This was the 10th birthday (of his) that we've spent together! He means the absolute world to me ♥

I'm playing catch-up with everything at the moment! I've finally caught up on the washing (sort of) and cleaning (though I keep finding more things that need to be done) but everything else is way behind schedule. I'm a bit snowed under at the moment! I'm behind on all my crochet projects and still have to start putting some ideas together for the Arts & Crafts Fair. Too much time spent procrastinating and not enough time spent crocheting & organising! I keep getting distracted & finding other things to do. Yesterday I decided to bake some almond cupcakes even though I knew I had a full schedule! Priorities! Priorities! Priorities! I need to focus!
☺
We've also had my fiance's parents visiting so I've not had much time to do my usual blog post & am a week behind but I will try to keep this post short & catch you up on everything we've been up to.
PS: That's the woodpecker that keeps visiting us!

Minion! So my wonderful fiancé spotted this pattern a few weeks ago when I was browsing the internet & decided he'd love one for his birthday! Fast forward to a week & a bit ago...there was me sat at the laptop, crochet hook in hand, putting together this nightmare of a project. The tutorial is excellent and probably the best I've seen but I've never done much amigurumi so this was hard work for me! This was 3 days worth of hard work. I was up at 6am everyday and not getting to bed till 3am & was having to squeeze minion time in whenever I could. The things we do for the people we love! ♥ Never again! (I say that now but he'll probably have me making something else before the end of the year!). We watched Despicable Me 1 & 2 recently & they're just awesome! Absolutely enjoyed every minute!

I baked a cake or two! I don't really do cakes. They never come out right and I'm no good at icing them. My lovely man wanted me to bake him a chocolate cake so I gave it a go. It was just a basic (easy peasy) chocolate cake recipe. I even lined the tins this time which is something I've never done! More on the cake further down......

Please excuse the lack of a shirt...it was early in the morning & this is the only photo I have of him with the Minion! He finally got to meet his Minion! I think he likes him. They'll get along just fine. It was all smiles on his birthday. He was very spoilt and it was a very enjoyable day. Look at that lovely smile ♥ says it all really!

My dad has been on leave for the last week & my fiancé's parents arrived the Thursday just before to spend the week with us. His parents treated us to lunch at his favourite eating place...Taybarns! We all had a great time! Lots of laughs & too much to eat! Unlimited cappuccinos (my kind of heaven)! The weather was lovely. I got everyone to pose for our traditional photo on the bicycle stands. We've been doing this over the past few years and it's really interesting to look back at.
My dad made a lovely roast dinner for us the following day & a delicious Trifle. I think we definitely overindulged but it was thoroughly enjoyed!

And the end result of the cake! I decided to keep them as two separate cakes. We ate one the day before with some ice-cream & chocolate sauce and we ate the other one on his birthday. The icing is just chocolate cream cheese but it did the job! His dad helped me decorate it. It's not perfect but it was made with love & that makes it special! ♥
Delicious with a bit of cream! The birthday boy loved it.

Of course the cats always find their way onto my blog! Our little furbabies aren't the most sociable creatures. They spent most of their time hiding, shouting at our visitors or sleeping. As far as they're concerned, they rule the house! They can be pretty demanding at times. Tabby got some outdoors time so he was happy. Everyone else was content to stay indoors!

On their last day with us (an hour before their train was due) we were treated to a snack at our favourite cafe...NRG. Nothing compares to this awesome cafe! My fiancé's mother is as much a fan of this cafe as I am! I had a Cafe Creme Brulee, she had a Baileys Latte, my dad had a Espresso Macchiato & my OH had a delicious strawberry milkshake! Of course we had to have a treat to go with it! Strawberry tarts & caramel shortbreads! Yum, yum, yummy! This is the same place we went to for my birthday meal earlier in the year.
We took a slow walk to the station & then said our goodbyes. We had a lovely week with them. It'll be a year now before his mom visits again but we'll be seeing his dad again in October!
☺

Now that our visitors have gone home, life must slowly go back to normal. Easier said than done! We've managed to get a fair bit done though. We bought some lampshades and my dad put them up yesterday. They add a lovely bit of colour to each room. I finally got round to ordering some new bedding that will be here on Tuesday & winter curtains. Normal routines shall resume tomorrow morning, starting with a 4am start! Now if I only I could catch up with my crochet!

I think that's everything! I hope you've enjoyed my little catch-up with you & hope you are all well. I'm off to catch-up on some of my favourite blogs! Wishing you all the best for the week ahead. Hopefully I will see you back here next Sunday!
Take care!
♥

Change is good but so is rest!

I'm quite proud of myself! I actually managed to find time to sit down, gather up my recent photos and put together a proper blog post this week! Some of them are going on 2 weeks old but better late than never. It's been a bit quieter lately. My dad has been on rest for 2 weeks because of foot pain. Policeman's heel to be exact. Very painful! But it's back to the usual full schedule this week, starting with 4am mornings from tomorrow!

 Not sure how but I managed to pack a fair bit of crochet into the last fortnight so I have a few things to share. Even during the heatwave I found myself crocheting away, sitting on the kitchen floor or in the lounge in front of our huge (18 inch) fan, trying to deal with the zillion ideas floating around in my head. Thankfully, I had a lovely coffee milkshake (camp coffee, ice-cream & milk mixed together = YUM!) & some muffins to help me through it. 

The top photo is the little scrap stash project I mentioned here. I plan on adding to it whenever I have any small bits of yarn to use up. I think it's a great idea for all those tiny scraps & will look perfect in the bathroom once it's done. 

The patchwork granny square blanket is a little project I started a few weeks ago. More on that further down. 

I've also been working on colour ideas for a project I planned & bought yarn for at the beginning of the year. I'm having an issue with a few of my choices & that's lead to me making numerous swatches. You know when you really want a certain colour in your project but it just doesn't seem to gel? Yeah, that's the problem I'm having.

And lastly, the red & brown squares. This is an idea that just recently popped into my head & so far I am loving it. I started it yesterday & should be done by Tuesday....hopefully. I'll be sharing it with you next time.

I've not forgotten about my other unfinished projects. My plan is to get some of them done this week but the big one won't be. I won't be meeting my August deadline for it sadly but it will be done before Christmas!

The heatwave really messed with our eating habits. We often have salad dinners (as shown above) but we were having them way more than usual and sometimes we weren't even having that! I also made melktert (milk tart) last weekend because it's such a refreshing pudding. I did mine without the pastry to avoid using the oven. It's always my go to dessert when it's too hot for baking because it's so easy. 

And with the heat came big changes for my wonderful fiance. We decided it was time for him to get a haircut. He's had long hair for a good few years now but it was just getting to be too much. I got the hair clippers out and an hour later he felt happier and refreshed! Look at that pile of hair! I think the new haircut really suits him! ☺

Parcels! Parcels! Parcels! Yes, I took full advantage of the Drops cotton sale! I've got a lot of new yarn to show you. I've been buying it all throughout July because some of it wasn't in stock when I placed the first few orders. I'm just waiting on one more colour before I show you the other lots. I also bought some new clover soft touch hooks to join my collection. They are very tiny & are for the yarn mentioned in this post. These hooks are great & so comfy! I did have some cheaper small ones but they were lacking in the handle department which makes crochet a little uncomfortable. Oh & I also purchased some yarn for a project that I won't be able to show you until after Christmas.

New yarn! This is Drops Muskat (100% Egyptian Mercerized Cotton). The colours are gorgeous & the yarn is lovely. I spent Monday making shadecards for all the different colours (48 in total). I only wish that there was a better yellow. My plan is to keep this yarn for little projects which is why I needed the shadecards.

Charity granny square blanket! I decided to use some (most) of my scrap stash for making a few charity goodies. I volunteer at our local Volunteer Centre and teach crochet on Thursdays as well as helping out with general duties like sales & admin. I've gained a lot from volunteering & wanted to do my bit in giving back. It's nothing special but every little helps. I've got a few more ideas up my sleeve.....we'll see what else I can add! I'd be grateful for some stash busting ideas? ☺

A bag and a potholder perhaps? Firsty the potholder! What do you think? On Thursday, the manager of the charity I volunteer for handed me a loom to try out. We grabbed some scrap yarn from the pile & sat fiddling around with it for a few hours & honestly didn't have a clue! Then I found this video & it all became clear! It's a great little idea don't you think? Easy to make & quick. I've not figured out some of the more complicated ones but I'm keen to give it a go. It's missing the doodah that goes through to tie the bits so I'll have to make one or something but otherwise it's awesome! Apparently you can even make blankets out of them! If anyone has any other info please share! ☺

Ok, the little bag. I was messing about with tiny squares. Didn't know what I was making but then this idea popped into my head. I'm sure it's been done before but I love that I hadn't seen it anywhere! It's also a donation for my local charity. I hope someone likes it enough to buy it.

So, that's the start of my charity stash busting collection! 

Bella's got the best bed in the world! I've had my scrap stash in the lounge most of the week and no cat can resist sleeping on a bed made of yarn! It must be super comfy! She certainly looks happy. I don't think I even need to tell you that Moe's already been in there! He can't resist balls of yarn! He loves peddling & snuggling up to them. 

My little burrowing Moe man has been at it again. I had our blanket on the floor, ready to be thrown in the washing machine and then he decided that it was the perfect opportunity to burrow & snuggle. Believe it or not but this was on the hottest day of the heatwave! The hottest day & he decides to snuggle in a HUGE blanket!

That's the blogging done for the week, the house cleaned and my dad's doing dinner so I think I'll go put my feet up for a bit. I won't be doing much crochet today as I've strained my neck. I have a bad habit of leaning my neck to the one side when I crochet and I'm paying for it now!

Hope you are all well & that your weeks have been enjoyable! Best wishes for the week ahead! Hopefully I'll be doing my regular blog post on Sunday so hope to see you again then! Thanks for visiting.

Take care!

♥

Catching up time!

Hello all! The last few weeks have been pretty hectic for us. Sadly my blog has suffered a little bit but today I'm going to catch you up on everything that I've been up to.

First, there was Father's Day! I usually try to get my dad something but this year I decided to be different. I cooked him dinner. My first curry (his awesome recipe though). He had to work Saturday night so it was nice for him to come home to his favourite meal after a tough night. 

Sunday morning I cooked up a big breakfast of tomato, onion, scrambled eggs & bacon and then later in the day I made a Lemon cake (in the microwave) with lemon syrup drizzled over the top. It was a lovely relaxed Sunday and I think he enjoyed the rest. I've also finally got him drinking & enjoying green tea ☺ very good for you!

I made a bag a little over a week ago. I found this page on facebook and she has some awesome patterns. My favourite has been the cluster stitch bag. I saw an alternative version that someone had made. A larger version of the cluster stitch bag but using the handles from this bag. It's so easy to make. I went digging through my scrap stash, found a few nice colours and started making a bag! 

The double strands make it a lot stronger than most bags. It works up really fast & took about 2 days. I loved making it and plan on doing a few more. This one I decided to give to a lovely friend of mine. She's always helping us out and never asks for anything in return so I gave it to her as a thank you.

We've been finding it really hard to think of things to eat for dinner lately. I don't if it's the warm weather or the busy weeks but no one is overly fussed about eating. It's all about quick meals and one of the best ones is gnocchi with chicken, onion and a lovely cheese sauce. It was rather yummy! Today my dad is cooking a pork roast so I'm looking forward to a bit a crackling!

I've been doing a lot of shopping lately. I spotted these colourful plant holders. They were so cheap and the colours were so nice I just had to buy them! I don't know what I'm going to do with them. They might look great somewhere amongst my craft supplies once I sort them out! Their has also been a lot of new yarn coming into the house. I will tell you all about that next week when I take you on a tour of my yarn stash! I've got one last delivery arriving on Monday (hopefully).

Apart from the bag & the shopping, I've also been testing some colours out for a big project I hope to start before winter (once I finish my dad's massive blanket). I'm testing the colour sequence out on a scarf first, using scraps from my stash. I bought the yarn last year but when I went to catalogue it all, I realised I wasn't happy with some of my choices. My idea has changed & I'll have to buy more for that reason but I want to be sure before I do and so I decided it was best to do the tester scarf. I get a scarf out of it so it's not that bad! My dad's blanket is coming along nicely but I am way behind schedule. They are being stored in these self sealing bags temporarily. I'm also finding that my tension is all over the place with these squares. I just hope it all works out in the end! 133 done 642 to go! Oh & I'm making another scarf. It's for my fiance. It's my own pattern and so far so good. More on that soon!

Cats! The weather is confusing them! It was so hot for a while that they were sleeping on the floor or in any cool spots they could find but the last 2 weeks have had a few chilly days and so they've been seeking out the warm & cozy spots once again. Tabby & Vinnie actually slept next to each other which is extremely strange because usually they are attacking each other. Moe managed to squeeze himself into Munchkin's bed but only briefly because shortly after that he heard my OH coming down and that meant food time! He also decided that my scrap yarn stash would be the perfect place for a nap! 

Tabby, my beautiful boy! I love it when he poses for me because he's such a beautiful cat! This photo is in the collage below but I just thought it deserved to be on it's own too! As naughty as he is (and believe me he is really naughty) I still love him.

These fluffy little monsters have been a little bit spoilt this week. Lots of playtime, plenty of treats & catnip and a new toy! The new toy no longer has its feathers. Vinnie removed them within about 5 minutes! They've all been happy. We've been up at 4am everyday and they've been up with us (more for the treats than anything else). At least they get to go back to bed though!

I had to include this one! It's so funny! This is Moe and his big sister Soetie. He jumped up to see what was on the windowsill and got a slap. The photo makes you feel really sorry for him because he looks all sweet & innocent but believe me he's not. He can be really cute when he wants to but he can also be super naughty! The kittens have definitely taught us just how naughty & adventurous cats can be!

So that was a bit of catching up! It's been really busy but those were the only things really worth mentioning on the blog! I've also been doing a lot of reading. I've got plenty to share about books & things! So far I've read 33 books this year but there have been a few worth mentioning that lead me to an amazing band & a singer called Jimmy Gnecco but I think I'll save that for another time & another post.

One last thing I forgot to mention, I was teaching crochet again this week! A lady stopped in at our volunteer centre wanting to learn and after the 2 hr lesson she was able to make a granny square. She was chuffed with her square & will be back next week! It's all voluntary but still enjoyable for me!

I hope that you've all been well and I wish you all the best for the week ahead! Hope you drop by later in the week for my yarn stash tour! I'll try to make it as colourful as possible!
Thank you for reading my blog and for those that comment, thank you for taking the time! I appreciate it, even a quick glance means the world to me!

Take care!
♥

Happy 2nd Birthday Kittens!

Today our little kittens are a whole 2 years old! I can't believe that these beautiful fluffy cuties have been in our lives, causing chaos and constantly keeping us entertained for 2 years. 

Our lives haven't been the same since the day they arrived. So much has changed and most of it for the better. We never planned on keeping them because we already had 4 cats to look after and times are hard but the day they were born we knew that there was no way we could let go. 

It's especially hard when you've brought them up and watched over them nearly 24hrs a day. The first few weeks were tough because Moe was very small and didn't seem to be eating enough so we had to monitor him. They had to be weighed everyday to make sure they were growing. At first we nicknamed them V (because he had a V shaped mark on his little head), M (because he had a white stripe that looked like a mohican) and B (for blacky because she was black). 

We thought that Soetie (B) was a boy because she was so big but it didn't take us long to figure out otherwise. They were so cute and a little funny looking. Their heads were too big for their bodies and they had short stubby tails and wobbled when they ran but they were so fun to watch.

Once we had officially decided to keep them, we decided to officially name them. Vinnie, Moe (Mosely) and Soetie. I've got loads of videos and pictures of them. We spent many hours watching them sleep, explore and play. The chaos began the day they figured out how to climb out of their sleeping zone/pen!

It was just go, go, go, go from then on...everything was a climbing frame, everything was edible and everything was a toy! The only time we got any peace & quiet was when they were sleeping and even that didn't last long! We didn't mind though, they had us all wrapped around their little paws!

I still can't get over how small they were! And those blue eyes! They were like little balls of fur...extremely cute balls of fur!

They really did grow fast and I'm glad we were able to capture & experience it all. I apologise for all the photos but their cuteness is just irresistible. I had only planned on sharing a few but I just couldn't decide between all the photos I've got and I guess I just wanted to share this incredible journey they have taken us on over the years.

They have kept us so busy and turned our lives upside down. Having kittens in the house is almost the same as having toddlers around. You have to kitten proof your house otherwise all sorts of things happen. We found that out the hard way. Let's just say that we have a lot less ornaments! You also worry about them constantly. We were nervous wrecks the day they had to go in to be fixed (we had it done ASAP as we really couldn't afford any more cats) and have their jabs. It was such a relief when the vet rang to say they were ok and we could pick them up in a few hours. There was lots of cuddles when they got home!

And gosh don't they love to play! All the time! Especially first thing in the morning after breakfast! They run around the house chasing each other like little maniacs. We have a trug full of toys just for them. The whole house is just one giant play pen for cats!

Their first Christmas was an adventure for us & them. The tree didn't last long before it came crashing down. We ended up buying a new one the following year. They just loved everything about Christmas.

So, this is them a year after they were born. Our precious little furbabies ♥ 

And this is them now, 2 years old and still as active as they always have been! Still playful, crazy and full of nonsense but still filling our home with so much love, joy & happiness. I honestly couldn't & would never want to imagine life without any of them!

Happy 2nd Birthday Vinnie, Mosely and Soetie!

♥

Happy Birthday Mom! ♥ Lots Of Crochet & other things

Today is my mom's birthday so before I do anything else, I just want to wish her a very big........ 

HAPPY

BIRTHDAY

Sadly, we aren't able to spend the day together but I'm hoping that one day we will see each other again so I can spoil her rotten! Thanks to awesome apps like Whatsapp I know I can at least chat to her all day and if I'm lucky I might be able to chat to her today!

 I'm hoping that she still has an awesome day no matter how far apart we are. 

She is an incredible woman who has been through so much in her life and taught me how to be strong and keep on fighting no matter how tough things get.

I love and miss her everyday. ♥♥♥♥♥♥

Ok, so I promise I do have some crochet to share with you this week! I'm really sorry that last week was a bit boring. I couldn't help it. I love the sunshine, animals and nature. It all just makes me so happy!

But firstly, I thought I'd share some photos that I forgot to share last week! This is Vinnie playing with an empty box of Rice Crispies. He's the biggest cat in the house and will try to fit into anything of the box or container variety. As you can see he is a bit too big for the box and ended up splitting it open down the side! This is the same cat I showed you that squashed himself into a small container!

This is his brother Moe/Mosely/Moses! Usually just Moe! He has developed an obsession with going into the backroom of our house. They aren't allowed in there because of all the breakables so he waits by the door until you need to go in there. You then have to pick him up and carry him around the room! It's his daily outing, it makes him happy, he purrs alot! He likes the colour pink! He especially likes to sleep on his fluffy pink blanky!

Ok, so crochet time!!! I hate giving up/quitting/being defeated by anything so I decided to undo the whole cat nest! I finally figured out where I've been going wrong...I've been ending rows in a different place. I could see that from the seam it was leaving but didn't realise at the time. So 4th attempt! It's going ok but not quite finished yet.

I'm still participating in the Granny CAL over at Knot Your Nana's Crochet but I'm a little behind which is a bit embarrassing considering you only have to do 3 squares a week! See, I'm a bit of a procrastinator and that takes up a lot of my time.

I did a fair bit of crochet this week though. I managed to fit it in around all the procrastination. The lounge briefly looked like a yarn bomb had hit it! My things were everywhere which the OH wasn't overjoyed about because every time he sat down he was attacked by a giant ball of yarn!

 I worked on the almost finished ripple. I know, I know! I keep saying it's almost finished but it's not finished. I promise though, it's close! Only 4 rows left and then it's time to weave in all those ends!

And, I also started a rainbow runner to go above the old fireplace because it looks so grey and boring. I thought it'd be simple seeing as it's just rows of single crochet but it took me the whole afternoon to figure it out. The side I was starting the row on was shorter than where it ended! So I went with doing 2 rows of each colour and using a different method when changing colours. It's Stylecraft Special DK yarn again because that's pretty much the only yarn I use/have ever used. Does anyone know if there is another way to flatten/block acrylic items rather than the steam from iron method? I don't own an iron but I know this little crochet project is going to need some blocking.

Mandala Rug by A Creative Being

Did you see this rug posted on A Creative Being? It's gorgeous and I plan to make one. I have so much super chunky yarn that I was going to make more cat nests with but now I'm thinking I can make some great rugs! 

I did a bit of baking this week which included our regular loaf of bread and also some Biscotti. I've always wanted to make Biscotti so I tried out the recipe I've got. It was ok but I'm hoping the second attempt will be better. The men certainly enjoyed it though!

We also tried something different this week. Bulgur wheat! Very tasty & definitely something we'll have again!

I'm so proud of my fiance. Even through the pain he is still keeping up with his walking schedule. The walking stick did join us but only briefly for the uphill. He walked a little further this week and soon we are hoping to get past those wooden steps you can see.

I did a fair bit of Cappuccino (lactofree) drinking this week and obviously lots of reading! It was like a reward for all the hard work from cleaning & tidying, getting ready for our visitor! I'm currently reading Find You in the Dark by A. Meredith Walters  which is turning out to be a very intense read! 

On Thursday, my fiance's father arrived! It's lovely to have him visiting again and it's a nice break for him! He brought a little surprise with him....you see that painting up there? He painted it! He's very talented. I'll have to show off some of his work next week. We are all currently enjoying the a bit of a break from regular life. My dad is on leave so we get to spend the week with both dads! I just hope this rain clears up soon!

We went for our second walk on Friday after the men had spent the afternoon doing the grocery shopping. It was a very relaxed walk and most enjoyable. We spent most of it admiring nature. It's so nice to see everything coming back to life.

Even the Daffodil's made an appearance! I wait for them every year. They grow wild everywhere in Wales which makes sense because they are the national flower. Hopefully soon we'll be seeing some wild garlic and  bluebells!

My dad didn't join us for our walk but he was there to meet us at the gate when we returned! Despite the slightly wet weather, it was still a beautiful day!

So, that was my week! Another busy one, just the way I like it! 

Recently, I found that I wasn't really enjoying blogging any more. It's not easy knowing what to write and what photos to include. I worry that it's not appealing to others even though I know that I mainly started this blog for me. I'm a worrier and I'm a perfectionist! It's daunting when I think about all the processing involved with photography & sometimes it takes me forever just to sort the photos out. The collages aren't easy either but after finding Picasa I'm finally excited abut blogging again! Yay! I can use my usual software for processing & then Picasa does everything else for me! It's awesome! I'm a happy bunny and I've been having a great time playing with it all weekend! I just wanted to share that with you!

So, hope you all have a wonderful week! Take care and see you next Sunday! x