Introductions and my little Man of the Match!

There's a new girl on the block,

and I happen to know she's adorable!

How do I know this?

Because she is my lovely class teacher.

The poor girl has to put up with me all day at work,

and listen to me bleeting on about Blogsville.

So with gentle persuasion, found herself

engulfed by this friendly cyber land.

Let me introduce

Megan

Please pop over and say Hi.

You won't be disappointed.

Anyhow my lovelies

have a look at this little chap...

He's my little

MAN OF THE MATCH!

You can't be in my family and not enjoy the game of

RUGBY

Jacob is proving to be a bit of a star at the game.

In my town we're lucky to have such a great

set up for kids playing rugby.

They're well looked after.

We're off on tour next Spring!

How does it go?

What goes on tour, stays on tour!

(wink wink!)

So, I have high hopes for my future international star.

But I'll be upset if his lovely little face ends up like this

after his rugby career.

Love Claire. x

Fancy a stroll?

I'm not sure about you but when things get a bit

too much, I like to get away from everyone,

be alone and clear my head.

I call it

P & Q

(peace and quiet)

Since having Basil this has been

much easier in the form of a walk.

Off we go, just me and my little faithful friend

and before I know it,

I'm feeling more like myself.

I took my camera out with me the

other day, with you in mind,

thinking some of you may need a bit of

P & Q

so here we are, off out, on my doorstep and

into the beautiful countryside that surrounds my little house.

It's getting a bit late before we even begin,

look, the man in the moon is out already!

That's where we're heading,

into the woods.

Past the little brook that tinkles away,

whatever the season.

Baz has found a stick,

lucky for us it's only a small one today!

I'm feeling more peaceful now,

how are you getting on?

I'm loving the colours this evening,

reflecting on my calm, and quiet canal.

Who's that coming along quietly?

I sometimes wish for a

shabby chic narrow boat rather than

dreaming of a vintage caravan?

Not sure my driving skills would live up to it.

A tight squeeze.

But she manages it perfectly.

Along on her way, slowly and calmly.

The last of the evening sun highlighting the way.

Come on Mr Duck,

it's almost dark.

Goodbye Mr Sunshine,

hope to see you tomorrow,

a fresh new day.

Come on Basil,

it's time we got back.

...and we hurry along home to our toastie warm house.

I hope you enjoyed our bit of

P & Q

Love Claire. x

Jack's Union!

What a week to have this beauty

wing it's way into my arms!

Armastice day brought with it

feelings of sadness but a huge amount a pride too.

My Grandad Jim was one of the loveiest fellows

you'd ever be lucky enough to have met.

Four years of his life was spent being a

Prisoner of war

during

World War II.

When he died,

obviously a family losing someone

as special as him found it all a bit hard to cope with.

But we were all very proud for Jimmy to

go to church on his final day out

with the

Union Jack

draped over him.

He would be so  to pleased to know his little home,

in which my own little family now live,

has a huge and beautiful one all of it's own

to proudly display!

So how did I manage this fabulous find?

You won't believe it,

but I just walked into my favourite charity shop,

and there it lay!

Rolled up and thrown on to a pile of blankets!!!

Grabbing it I held it close,

and I tucked myself into a corner and slowly

unravelled it, soaking up the feeling you get when

you come across such a haul.

So there it lay before me,

I drink in the wonderful sight...

...my very own,

ever so slightly but beautifully shabby,

UNION JACK.

The price????

Deal Done!

Love Claire. x



Easy Christmas Cake!

 This is where I post my

 

Grandma Lily's

tried and tested

Christmas cake recipe!

Where I tell you that it's been

handed through 5 generations.

OR....

I come clean and tell you

my secret.

TESCO's

ready made christmas cake,

fed with Brandy every

couple of weeks,

from now until Christmas

when I shall ice it.

I just take the lid off,

unwrap the layer covering the top and

dribble a couple of big spoonfuls of brandy

over it's skewered surface.



Then wrap it up again,

and secure the lid on the tin!

Done!

The cake cost about £3.50.

I have no left over ingredients to go off in the cupboards,

no mess to clean up,

or worry if it's under or over cooked.

My usual messy snow storm of royal icing

will be in order...

my Grandma Lily always did this design

and then my Mum,

now little me too!

The boys can help, just like

I used to when I was there age.

So, I have no feelings of guilt,

it'll still feel homemade

and lovingly tended to,

and hopefully,

taste divine.

Go on...

...you do the same!

You don't have to be as honest as me though!

Love Claire. x

Crafty, but Homemade!

Before I go any further,

I just need to tell each and everyone of you

how much your lovely comments

have been encouraging my along lately.

Lots of us are mentioning how the dark nights

are drawing in and how cold it's getting.

But sat here, in my cosy little home,

with 2 cheeky little boys happy and safe,

all my furry and feathered friends healthy,

I quite like it, and with you for company,

I'm certainly not complaining!

So please, all of you,

take a big huge

'Nearly There Claire'

HUG.

To say thank you properly,

a giveaway should be in order.

So watch this space soon.

(wink-wink)

Seeing as it's getting all chilly around these parts,

and I have done so many posts lately

about life with my boys,

I thought it about time I offered you

something crafty!

There's something about wool

that is so comforting and homely.

Knitting is not really all that tricky,

you just need patience.

Something I'm not really.

But, I found myself in the wool shop,

stoking and squeezing the soft colourful balls of loveliness

and the lady encouraged me to give it a go.

For only a few pence I could buy a simple pattern

for a pair of

Wrist Warmers!

Very easy,

would you like for me to share it with you?

OK.

I chose some chunky wool and 6.5 mm needles.

Cast on 38 stitches.

...and then you knit 2, purl 2!

Matching up your knit and purl stitches as you continue

with the rows,

creating a rib effect as it grows.

Easy!

If you are not well practiced at this like me,

you soon get to see how the pattern is formed as you go along,

and although I got a bit muddled a couple of times

it's not too tricky to undo a few stitches and get back on track.

Unfortunatly,

I don't have the finished pair to show you,

as I wrapped them up and gave them to my

oldest friend for her birthday last week!

But half way through,

(with a blog post in mind)

I encouraged Jacob to

model them for me!

His skinny little wrist looks lost in them ha ha!

Anyhow,

Once your knitting measures 7 inches

you cast off, fold length ways

to make a tube.

Start to sew down from the top

1 inch to join up the seam.

You then leave another inch,

for your thumb to stick through,

and then continue to join up

down to the end of the seam.

Did that make sense?

Well if it didn't I'm sorry,

but believe me,

IT'S EASY!

If I can do it

anyone can.

By the way,

My pal loves them

and a little bit of me wishes I had

kept them,

but seeing as I keep saying how

easy they were to knit,

I should crack on and knit more eh?! 

Love Claire. x



Remember, remember the 5th of November....?

Now then,

did you all know that

Guy Fawkes, in 1604,

tried killing off James I

by blowing up the

Houses of Parliment

with gunpowder,

so a Catholic could return to the throne?

So his being caught

and then punished in such a gruesome manner,

I'm not sure, what with me being a Catholic, I should celebrate it....

....but seeing as it is by order of

King James I

that we SHOULD celebrate it,

I do! ;o)

...and this is how my lovely little family managed it this year.

On the 5th November itself

we lit our chimnea for the bonfire.

Mummy drank Gluvine (Gluhwein)

(only to warm me up of course)

and we ate hot dogs and baked potatoes,

and melted marshmallows on our diddy bonfire.

We had our own little firework display.

Which Basil, the adorable and

completely bombproof labrador,

sat and watched with us!!!

Sorry about lack of photos, I was too busy enjoying myself.

I love the smell of sparklers.

(maybe I'm a bit odd there? Ha ha)

Now last night, the 6th November,

we went to the local Cricket Club to watch

an organised huge big bonfire and firework display.

Nothing like feeling the warmth

from the fire on your freezing cold cheeks.

We had been earlier in the day to watch the chaps

build the bonfire, which, for my boys,

provided more entertainment value than

the main event in the evening!

(forgot the camera. Doh!)

I too, managed a rather giddy moment

whilst being at the bonfire building bit,

THAT my friends,

I shall share with you later in the week!

On to the fireworks...

How tricky is taking photos of fireworks eh??!!!

I wanted to watch,

Oooooing and Ahhhhhing

with everyone else,

so you have to just take my word for it

and believe they were great,

and very very LOUD!

So, that's that.

Bonfire Night

done for another year.

Eek!!!

I can hardly contain myself!!!!!

You all know what's coming next don't you???

IT'S CHRISTMAS!

Love Claire. x



The gruesome birthday!

I bet you're all feeling Halloween was soooo last week!

Well yes, it was, but seeing as I promised to

show you some of the very few photos

of a very FAB birthday party,

I had best get on with it eh?

The cake!

It was going to be a

RED VELVET CAKE

but ended up being a Sainsburys chocolate one!

But we did spruce it up a bit,

as you can see.

Basil just HAD to get in on the act!

He came trick or treating with us all,

and wriggled through to the front everytime we

knocked on someones door...

funny how he learnt VERY QUICKLY

that kids drop things,

especially sweets and hot dogs etc!

Not many photos of children as they didn't stand still long enough!

Somehow I got roped into playing the

silly party games!

(yes, the kitchen is in a state, but so would anyones

in the midst of a wild and mad fun party like ours)

We all loved the lanterns

and made wishes.

Some of which I found out later were

for scramble dirt bikes???!!!?????

We had enjoyed decorating the house with lots of

spooky decorations...

...some written in BLOOD you know!

Afterwards, a very worn out pair of boys and puppy!

One of which just couldn't stay awake a moment longer.

So there you have it!

Is it Christmas now????

NO?

You mean we have to do

BONFIRE NIGHT

before we can officially

start thinking about Christmas?

Well then,

that brings me neatly round to

wishing you all a

fun packed evening tomorrow.

Keep safe everyone.

love Claire. x