Lost a pound and gained a year!

Last week I thought I was turning 43 - turns out I was 'only' 42! 

Maths has never been my strong point but I was thrilled to find myself younger than I thought! 

Most bizarrely when I went for my annual eye test my eye sight had improved too...

what are the chances??

(apparently reasonably high - the lovely optician told me it was fairly common in one's 

'middle age'. Goodo)

 

Naturally my day was special as the boys all still love making cards and helping to wrap presents. Well, they love it for 5 minutes, leave Cleggy locked in the dining room for hours... then take all the glory during the grand opening!

Cleggy has earned himself the unenviable reputation of being a 'good wrapper of presents' (see here, here,  here and here and here for wrapping ideas!) and this year was no exception. It was an eclectic mix of print and charms finished with my new obsession - little vintage ceramic dolls called 'frozen charlottes'.
Apparently so called because Charlotte refused to wear a coat when going out in bad weather and froze...a lesson in vanity. 

(Little bit sinister)











 

We did of course manage to sneak off for a cheeky night away (thanks Granny) and drove further South into our own county (Cheshire) to part of the world we don't visit often enough. It's a very pretty part of England and has castles galore.

The weather was less than promising but who cares...a night away is a night away right?!







We stayed at The Cholmondeley Arms, a converted school with a separate B+B in the original Headmaster's house. 
 

I chose it for 2 reasons...the garden (complete with games) and the gin. 






The weather was SO grim we didn't even see the garden but the gin was brilliant. They have 130 different types and do a 'gintroduction' which is three very different varieties with a range of mixers and garnishes. I had no idea they would taste so different - lush!

Rubbish photos - had drunk a little too much already!

 

It's a great place to stay and the pub is lovely - 

good food and service too.

I share my birthday with Cleggy's Dad who turned 70 this year! 
As a surprise we all travelled to The Lakes to spend a day together.

The village was called Wasdale and it was 

THE most beautiful scenery.

 

We found a good spot for a picnic and a couple of hours of football, Frisbee (natch) and paddling in the stream.

 

 It was lovely to catch up with everyone - 

the boys love seeing their Edinburgh cousins....

  ...and Cleggy doesn't see nearly enough of his big brother.

 

We have made some big decisions recently 

(around swapping work for time!) 

and it was really good to discuss it with him and my sister-in-law Alice, who then posted me a book about 'finding time' (which I haven't had time to read yet - ha ha)

Thanks for organising us all Alice - you are a very special lady.

THEN, as if that wasn't enough excitement for one week we celebrated The Granny's 67th birthday with a family tea in the garden. I can't actually believe we had 2 sunny days in a row!

This time all the little local cousins came...Cleggy had made some dens and created some 'water exploration stations' 
(you can take the man out of teaching.....) and it was lovely to see them all playing together. My big boys even managed to part with their screens for the day!

 WHO in their right mind would give a hose to a 2 year old!!?

GB still loves bubbles...who doesn't?

My little brother and his wifey Janet

On the work front I've been back in the workshop for real for the first time in months. Unfortunately I haven't yet tidied it but I have found my desk...a good start.

Here are some of my recent makes:

crochet coasters for Teachers 

some 'words to live by' blocks

 Single blocks for teachers using Cath Kidston papers

 Christening blocks using Beatrix Potter images

 Lots of wedding blocks

  

A christening box

(I no longer make these :(  

The blanks and postage are just too expensive)

Some blocks for a little girl called Emily Brown, using images from an Emily Brown book!

and some new designs for the shop when it reopens next week

Lastly - the couch-to-5K run update. I am on run 11 and can't believe I'm still doing it. 

Any hopes of losing weight have been dashed by....THE SHEER AMOUNT of food and drink I've consumed over the last fortnight!  But I have lost ONE POUND!

The runs are now much harder (intervals of 5 minute runs) which I'm finding very challenging - but still kind of enjoying it and hoping to see some results in the reduction of my lardy arse in the near future. 

Thank you again for all the encouragement (and on Instagram) 

I'm glad I went public!!

fee x