I just love this...

Sunday evenings are so much better

 with this to look forward to...

Lark Rise to Candleford

Maybe some of you have never had the chance to watch this, one of my favourite programmes ever. 

What a shame, and for you who aren't keen, then whats wrong with you?!  It's fab!

The story is based upon a a small country town called Candleford,

and the neighbouring hamlet of Lark Rise. 

The characters are delightful, played by familiar actors.

I find that each episode is full to bursting with colour, something I find is always missing with period dramas.

 Now I may be wrong but I don't think I have ever watched an episode when it has rained. 

It's always sunny.

Each episode is based around an entry from young Laura's diary, and her look upon the lives and happenings of what goes on in this lovely area of the English countyside.  How relationships, progress and politics effect peoples lives no matter who they are or their status.

Maybe if Laura was around today, she wouldn't keep a diary, she'd be a blogger, who knows?

Lots of gorgeous scenery and costumes.

Even cakes and flowers!

Someone, each week it seems is baking or tending to gardens or crafts.

OH I JUST LOVE IT!

Thank you for letting me share that with you all!

Love C. X

A little mouse with clogs on...

WARNING - Content could be disturbing if you are fond of disease ridden dirt dropping blighters.

Plural of MOUSE is MICE

Singular of DICE is DIE

Hmmmm not sure why a mouse isn't a MIE and why I can't get mine to DIE!!!

Sorry but I can't hear you if you are shocked by this,

it isn't funny when your shreddies keep being eaten by the critters!!!

Don't get me wrong here, I love sharing my life with animals,

goodness I have enough of them, but this problem isn't good!

But, if you are getting to know me by now, there is a funny twist in the tale (not TAIL!)

I put the traps down, with the recommended chunks of Kit-Kat on. 

My boys noses a little too close for my liking but the activity far too grusome for grubby little boys to miss out on.

And we waited...

And we waited...

The boys went off to bed.  I went off to bed,

and I am almost off to sleep when I think I shall just pop down and see if we have caught any. 

Not only had we NOT caught any but the damn Kit-Kat had been STOLEN!

The devils had taken the bait and the traps hadn't gone off!!!!

I tested them with a biro which shattered all over the place as it triggered the extremaly sensitive trap.

I could not believe it!!!

How is it that I have got clever mice?!

So I decided to have a quick chat with Toby Black Cat.

"Ahem, excuse me Toby" I said, with hands on hips!

 "erm... Toby, if you wouldn't mind just flicking an ear so can at least know that you're listening"

Toby swishes tail.

"Not sure if you know or not, but if you were to come into the other room and take a sniff,  you may realise we are rapidly becoming over run with mice!  Now, I am not one to upset you but I would like to just give you a nudge and remind you that it is actually your department to keep us mouse free!"

The lazy boy opens his eyes to a tiny slit.

So, without further ado, and calmly chanting my mantra

"I am the adult, I shall take charge, I shall do the right thing.  Hopefully!"

He is picked up.

My goodness this 5 kilo of pure panther will scare the blighters away I think to myself.

Now there I am, lay on the floor in my jim-jams, trying to shove this fat panther through the gap under the units containing said Shreddies.

He looks in the hole, gives a sniff, retreats and walks off!

I give up!

Go back up to bed and drift off to sleep.  To be woken an hour later, by a muffled mewing at the side of my bed.  I know that tone of voice I think to myself and I leap out of bed, switch on the light and there he is.  My hero!  My lovely sleek handsome boy with half a mouse hanging out of his mouth.  He promptly drops this and does a bit of jig with it for me, re-enacting the chase, complete with exagerated tales of how he almost died defeating the enemy.

I love my fat cat!

Toby 1 Mouse 0

Love C. x

Fun Fab Sewing Club!

I've told you what I do for my job before,

but incase you missed it

I'm a Teaching Assistant at a primary school in the town where I live.

Now I'm not sure anyone can love their job as much as me, don't get me wrong, staying in bed just that bit longer in the mornings and being able to take my own children to and from school myself everyday are things I would rather be doing than having to go to the workplace.  But seeing as most of us have no choice, I would rather do what I do than anything else.  Unless, quite possibly, be an ice cream man!

Any road, I am trying to get round to telling you about a club I run with the girls in my class.  Boys were invited, but they seem to have chosen the cookery club over my sewing club!  Best way I think, I see enough boys so being all girlie suits me just fine.

This week we started a new project.

Super Sweet Hearts!

Not too tricky, we've learnt all the necessary skills already with projects we've already tackled.

Such as a 'Handy Fab Tote Bag' and 'Needed Needle Cases'.

'Keep these forever'  I tell them!

'You'll remember making this when you're old, like me!'

'That adorable teacher we had for sewing......'  Often the joker with them, but hope it's all true.

Love C. X

Much Cheapness!

Thrifting!

I like it being called that.

Not sure what it used to be called but who cares, I love it!

A visit to a few charity shops last week gave me a chance to feed my little habit.

Please forgive my very lack of ability of taking better photos but I thought you may like to see what I managed to thrift!

£3

Cute shelves and cute price!

£2

Little yellow jug

(to go on the cute shelves of course!)

£1.20

Crochet cushion

...and my new lovely picture from Nostalgia had to jump in on the action too!

I have just realised, I have a tidy corner of my usually messy home!

Have a look....

Love C. X

A Grand Day Out.

Last week I mentioned I was off out to visit Niki here.

Now I am not sure whether I was more excited at BF being willing to come with me, or what I was about to find at Niki's delightful shop, Nostalgia at No.1.  I wasn't disappointed with either.

It was a lovely spring like day for our journey through the lovely Somerset countryside that I am falling in love with, we laughed and joked along the way, but thats nothing new with us. 

One thing that always makes me smile with him whilst were out on our travels is his ability to park the car in the most unusual places! 

Todays 'spot' was a SUB STATION

Quite handy really!

He works for the electric board so we can usually get a good 'spot' in the centre of anywhere on his patch, even if a bit of an unattractive buzzing/humming totally non-girlie place.  For FREE!!!  All this whilst laughing away, cracking jokes, and him threatening me if I use the photo I took of him doing the gates.

Hee hee!

             

A short walk through Shepton mallet, up to the market place, and there I saw something familiar.

A little blue shop.

A gleaming window, filled with delightful goodies, thoughtfully pieced together.

Slowly opening the door, gave the lady a little smile, and never shut up for the next 40 minutes!

Poor Niki!  Gosh I can talk!  I had to look at every single item in this Aladdin's cave. 

I wanted to buy EVERYTHING!

  My head was filled with lots of ideas of how to display things.

Old photos, glass, fabrics, china and trinkets.

Determined not to leave empty handed the BF helped reach down a picture from the wall, I held it, stroked it, ans decided it would look fab in my bedroom.

Poor thing hasn't made it to my room yet.  I'm far too disorganised at the moment, besides, I love to hold it, stroke it, walk past it several times a day in my kitchen, so I can steal myself away to a beautiful day out, complete with super company, the meeting of new friends and enjoying gorgeous deepest Somerset.

Love C. x

Snips and snails and puppy dog tails.

Well here we are, Rubbish old Monday!

Back home.

Back to work.

KIDS!

Now I find this hard to believe but my boys over the holidays were actually quite good friends. 

I usually have a saying about them that from the minute they wake up, until the minute they go to bed, the main aim for each brother is to try and kill the other one!

I think, or hope, we may be reaching another stage in their development in that they have realised they are in fact, quite lucky to have one another. 

They are brilliant at sharing,

and usually if I give them a choice over something I can leave it to them how and what to decide upon,

so long as it's the same.

 I do believe little boys have a certain something that is special, and although,

I cannot deny, I would've loved a girl, I am truly blessed with my pair.

Now don't get me wrong, there have been some serious moments of  'Why me?' when it has come to parenting, especially my pair, (will explain another time about that!)

 and I'm ashamed to even think about some thoughts I have had regarding not wanting to do this anymore. 

But I guess those thoughts come with every job. 

Parenting is by far the hardest job I have had so far, and by what my Mother warns me with is

'It doesn't get any easier, no matter how old they are!' 

Surely she doesn't mean me, eh?!

Love C. x

P.S.  I have left my camera at work so alas, I cannot down load photos of my lovely day out to Niki's lovely shop.  But I soon will do, along with details of all my lovely finds in my charity shop expedition.

Confessions of a dieter...

Well my friends, I have no news to tell of my visit to my Slimming World class yesterday.  That being because i didn't go!  I do have a good enough excuse though,

I am here.

Portishead

This is the view from my Boyfriends flat!

I am sat here right now, after he has gone off to work, drinking fresh coffee made by his 'Boy-Gadget' fancy coffee machine, eating my porridge and banana whilst watching the swans gliding along on the marina.

I could get used to this!!!

Hopefully we are going to 'Wells' tomorrow, one of my favourite places,

When we first got together we watched this film

which is filmed in and around Wells.

So being a little bit like sad movie buffs, he took me to this gorgeous place (the smallest city apparently) and we found the differant places used in the film. 

I remember going when I was a little girl, a memory I have quite clearly as in the footpath there is a marked out area of the world record breaking long jump that Mary Rand did in the 1964 olympics.  She was from Wells and to commemorate this event, they marked it into the footpath. 

I won't be the only kid that tried to match it and failed, but I have the memory of doing so all those years ago, and doing cartwheels on the lawns of the catheadral too. 

I doubt I shall be doing either tomorrow!

We hope to eat in our 'maybe not so secret' place Goodfellows,

and he has promised to squeeze a visit in to Niki's gorgeous shop,

which is in Shepton Mallet, just down the road.

You can have a peep at it Here

So, I had better get out and about today, in this lovely spring like day and go and investigate the beautiful town of Portishead. 

Not that I haven't already before, but minus BF I can rumage in charity shops and drink yet more coffee in the coffee shop without someone checking the time or football scores.  Bless him.

Love C. x

Getting to grips....

I am so happy with my little self to have been posting on my very own blog more than once a year!

There is so much to learn but I am finding that bit the most fun.  I have got myself a super Fairy Godmother to help with the task of teaching me the wonderful skill of blogging, and although I have a long long way to go, I think she is brill and not doing a too bad job.

(fabulous teaching, not fast learning I hasten to add!)

Her name is Victoria from Florence & Mary

I need to get myself organised with my camera, and get snapping whilst we're out and about so I can let you join in on all of our adventures as I have learnt, I think, how to add picture now, and hopefully the link to Victoria's beautiful blog has also worked.  I must also add here that the above picture is nothing like as beautiful as her fabulous blog, it is only a cute reference to her being my special Fairy Godmother.

Love C. x

Shrove Tuesday v's Pancake Day

Today we watched one of these!

But after too much of these...

I am now one of these!!!

Oh well, I am a happy little piggy at least, and although my pancakes looked more like burnt scrambled omlettes, they tasted lovely, if we poured too much lemon, sugar or maple syrup on that is.

Oh, you may be pleased to know that our fire alarm works perfectly too!!! Hee hee!

Love C. x

Love is a many splendid thing!

Pink fizz and oysters for a very spoilt girlie!

I'm sorry but I feel I will be unable to stay very long today, I seem to be unable to stop my thoughts from straying back to all the laughing I shared last night with my best friend. The most bestest BF in the whole wide world! -Even if I am now rejected in favour for the rugby down the pub! A pub which happens to be 160 miles away! The trouble with being in love with my chap is I live here, and he lives there. Here being Cheshire and there being Somerset. He is actually from the town where I live, but now lives and works down there. In some ways it's perfect, that being everytime we are together we arrange to do things, something some of my friends don't seem to do very often with their boyfriends.

We don't take things too seriously either, like today for example. At least I have seen him this Valentine's Day, last year he was watching the rugby from inside Twickenham not just the pub (even though this 'pub' is 160 miles away-have I mentioned that already???!!!) I think he enjoyed his present, a pound shop bargain! A pair of fake boobies! Well, we like to be differant and we never stop laughing so I couldn't resist them when I saw them. I think he may be wearing them as I type (Down the pub! The pub previously mentioned, the one 160 miles away!!!)

Anyways, I shall get off now, carry on with my dreaming of last nights delightful meal and give the other men in my life some attention. The 6 and 8 year old ones.

I hope your weekend is lovely too, catch you soon my friends.

Love C. x

P.S. I dread to think of how many syns I've had already! Oh well, back on track today. Or maybe tomorrow. Hopefully!

I'm the SOW!

Thursday is 'Fat Club' day!

After being a bit daft and eating every single SYN from my whole weeks allowance on Friday last week I knew it was going to be hard going until weigh in today. I just can't help it! The weekend comes and I just find a drink in my hand, a menu in the other and a few hours later, 80'odd syn in my big belly. This was my 6th weigh in and every week I have been 'on' this diet I have followed the same pattern, ending up quite hungry some nights when I am lay in bed. Now I am sure that would make the fat club 'teacher' worry but at least I see it as a problem, so I am going to make an effort to improve. But maybe not this week hee hee! Well this week it's going to be hard to not have 80'odd syns every day. Valentines day, gorgeous BF taking me out on Saturday. Shrove Tuesday, I have kids-expect the worst! Half-term, I have the week off plus the boys with me and hopefully going to stay at the BF's in Somerset at the end of the week-hmmm vino!!!

After all that I haven't told you my news! I somehow still managed to lose enough weight to be crowned Slimmer Of The Week AGAIN. I lost another 2 and a half pounds, which also got me my new shiny 1 stone award sticker. I love stickers. You can't do my job and not love stickers! Which, by the way, is a teaching assistant. I work in a primary school and often come home after covering myself with good work stickers! We even have ones which are smelly jelly bean ones. They're my favourite! OK I know, I am a bit mad. Hee hee!

So there we go. yet ANOTHER post!

Love C. x

Catch up Claire!!!

How rubbish am I at blogging? Hee hee!

I must do better at this, I really must!

I mentioned in my last post, my only other post, that my life can be quite eventful, well this week has been true to form in that department. Where shall I start?
I would be best starting at the beginning, Monday, when after work and collecting my boys I went to donate blood. Now I am not the best person when it comes to needles, infact I am quite possibly the worst! I took the boys with me because I wanted to show them what it is all about, not to be afraid and to understand that sometimes people can do good things and help each other. Even if we do pass out and cause a massive disruption to the whole process! Yup, I had a funny turn, and made a total fool out of myself. Infact, not only did it happen once but TWICE! Such a drama queen eh?! Now I know this will sound far fetched but it took me until Wednesday to get over this, I felt so groggy and woozy. I had a routine check up yesterday and the nurse told me my blood pressure is always a bit low, so that is why it will have happened, so there! I am not such a drama queen after all!

Now, on to Thursday. I joined a slimming club a few weeks ago and my weigh in is on thursday mornings, I shall try and keep you updated with it from now on. I have been before, lots of times, had quite good results with it too in the past. But I am rubbish at sticking to it, but as it stands this time I lost 2 and a half pounds my first week, FOUR pounds my second week, 2 and a half the next and 3 and a half this week. So that amounts to 12 and a half pounds in total. I am pleased as punch and actually really enjoying it. I have been the 'Slimmer of the week' twice and was 'Slimmer of the month' for January!!! It is Slimming World that I go to and I love the diet. So watch this space!

Hey, look at that! Another post, I'm getting good at this! Maybe one day I will work out how to put photos up on here. Maybe learn to write more often. So next time I will tell you a bit more about myself. Oooooooh, I can't wait now. How can I have been so silly to leave it so long, such a wonderful way of talking about my favourite subject-ME!!!

See you soon BLOG

C. x