Missing Page In The Parenting Handbook?

CHARACTERS:

Me : Me

Blondie Daughter : Blondie Daughter

Rose : Blondie Daughter's Best Friend

Rose's Mum : Blondie Daughter's Best Friend's Mum

Buttercup : Blondie Daughter's Friend Who Came To Tea Today

BACKGROUND:

Rose's little brother was poorly Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week so Me has been picking Rose up from school and taking her home each night.

Rose's Mum sent home a pretty pansy for Me by way of thanks.

Tonight, Blondie Daughter had Buttercup around for tea.

TEXT MESSAGES:

Me :  Aah, thanks for the lovely little pansy - very sweet of you, you minx! x

Rose's Mum : You're very welcome. Don't want to bother u because I know u have Buttercup round, but Rose has come home very upset today because she said Blondie Daughter has been telling her she's not her friend and ignoring her and she is confused why. xx

Me : I've had a chat with Blondie Daughter and she was very surprised that Rose was upset. Her words were "why would I say that to my best friend?" I wonder if Blondie Daughter and Buttercup were excited about this eve and Rose felt a little left out? Please assure her that, as far as Blondie Daughter is concerned, she is her BFF (best friend forever)!!  Hope helps. x

Rose's Mum : Rose isn't jealous at all, she has a very full life and lots of other friends.  She just isn't a nasty girl and doesn't understand why people turn on her for no reason.  Oh well we all believe our own don't we. xx

... stunned silence ...

Me : Gosh, Rose's Mum, I'm very shocked and saddened by the tone of your response.  May I suggest we let the girls sort it out themselves?

...

Blondie Daughter is in bits.  She is worried that Rose's Mum is going to shout at her in the playground tomorrow and she has no idea what she has done wrong.  I have assured her that won't happen.  Between you and me, if Rose's Mum so much as raises her eyebrows at my daughter, she'll rue the bloody day.

My daughter isn't perfect but I know when she is telling me the truth.

Am I missing something here?  It seems to me that the chips on the shoulders of the parents are weighing heavy on the children.

And I thought, at 40 years old, my playground days were well behind me ...

xxx

The Travelling Craft Box Arrives!

I signed up for the lovely Laalaa's Travelling Craft Box back in January.

It's such a great idea.  Lynda started by filling a box with crafty bits (supplies, kits, magazines, un/finished makes, etc.) and sent it out to the person at the top of the list.  The recipient is able to take up to 5 items of their choice out of the box but must, in turn, pop the same number of items back into the box before sending it on.

I am second on the list and, quite frankly, pulled a real blinder by slotting in just under Tracy from Mad About Bags - result! :-)

The box arrived on Friday and just look what Tracy had included, prettily wrapped, for me in the top ...

This gorgeous hand sewn bag.  It's so beautifully made and absolutely PERFECT for my 'crochet on the go'.  Thank you so much Tracy, it's the most thoughtful gift and I love it.

She also included a matching handmade pin cushion, some buttons and choccie ...

What a lucky girl!

I'm not allowed to show you what's in the rest of the Craft Box but, after a jolly good rummage, I chose these two items ...

... and will duly replace them before sending the box on to Ali.

I'll leave you with a picture of my pretty 99p daffodils just starting to unfurl.  Lucky for you there isn't a scratch 'n' sniff option on the screen - they smell absolutely foul.  Like very old wet nappies.

Sorry to spoil the illusion! ;-)

Bleurgh!

Hxxx

Crochet A Frilly Flower

"Just living is not enough" said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower".

Hans Christian Anderson

Since I posted my simple bunting tutorial, I've been asked several times how to crochet the flower I pictured.

I daresay very similar flowers have been made up and down the Land Of Blog but, since I didn't follow a pattern for it, I am happy to share my little Frilly Flower (using UK terminology) with you ...

Happy days.

Hx

Spring Colours

Half term last week already seems like a distant memory.

Necessities like hair cuts, library visits and new school shoe shopping mixed with indulgent slow pottering mornings.  It was just lovely (she says misty-eyed, selectively forgetting the bickering, the mess and the doubled supermarket bill!)

One dry and bright day, the Blondies and I decided to catch the bus into town.  I thought it would be a bit more fun than driving and parking.  £11!!!  We only live about 2 miles away from the city centre.  I used to be able to catch the bus for 32p return.  And, no, that's not old money!  Honestly, no wonder people are reluctant to use public transport.

It just so happens that we alighted right outside Primark so we popped in for a browse.

I remember both Vanessa and Jane blogging about the Pip Studio-lookalike towels and tea-towels, so I was dying to have a look.  Too pretty and reasonable to resist, a couple did come home with us.  Look what else we bought ...

Candles for £1.50 each.  Aren't the tins gorgeous?  They smell lovely too.

We also picked up these canvasses for Blondie Daughter's bedroom ...

Oh I do love a little shopping spree.

♥♥♥

D and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary on Valentines' Day.  I cooked D's favourite supper (pasta with smoked salmon in garlic, cream and white wine liberally scattered with toasted pine nuts) and he supplied the bottle of Sancerre and flowers.  We sat cuddled up on the sofa afterwards and reminisced our way through our wedding photos.

♥♥♥

I absolutely love this time of year.  Spring is lurking just around the corner.  I so want to throw open the windows and watch pretty bedding flapping on the washing line.

I'm still loving my tulips.  Indulgent or not, as soon as one bunch goes over, I buy another.  Particularly now I have my new Greengate jug ...

I managed to win it on Ebay for less than a third of it's retail price - RESULT! - it was an unwanted Christmas gift apparently (ehhh?)

The crochet you may have glimpsed in my last post is progressing slowly.  It's another cushion cover; this time a rectangle just over twice the length of my cushion which will fasten envelope style.  Well, that's the plan.  I'm having a love affair with double crochet (US single) at the moment and always adore these Sublime Cashmere Merino colours.

Have a lovely, colourful day.

Hx

Thank You x

Just thought I'd pop in to say a quick "hello".

I've spent most of the afternoon sitting on my beanbag crocheting.  I've now got stiff shoulders and my bum has gone to sleep.  Ah well.  It may not be the healthiest pastime but it sure is one of the most blissfully colourful.

Hope you're having a lovely weekend, whatever you're doing.

I would like, before I go, to say a very big 'thank you' to Sally from Lavender Attic and Olga from There Where Is Soleil for my recent blog awards.  Seriously, I am tickled pink!  I'm supposed to pass it on to 15 newly-discovered blogs but permission to be a lazy lump and dedicate it to all the blogs I follow? :-)  It gets harder to think of seven interesting things so I'll indulge in a few basics:-

1.  I am 40 and loving it.

2.  I will have been married to D for 14 years on Valentines' Day.

3.  I have two children - a son of 13 and a daughter of 10.

4.  I am the eldest of four children, having three younger brothers.

5.  I am 5ft 6" with size 5.5 feet.

6.  I am one of the most unsporty people you will every meet, though I love to dance and can still almost do the splits!

7.  I am most definitely a home bird.

Thank you again girls.

See you soon.

xxx

The One In Which I Give You A Looksee ...

Phase one of 'room swap' is just about done.

Blondie Daughter has given me permission to invite you in to her new blue room for a quick peek ...

I love this picture.  It's a rainbow fairy BD drew when she was six.

Floppy, bedecked in crochet scarf, strongly approves of his new home ...

I found these Ikea mirror tiles in a charity shop basket for £1 a few years ago.  I lovingly prised

the bloody things them off the wall, cleaned them up and have reapplied them.  (Go on, put your hands up, who would have painted AROUND them?!) ...

(I had an overwhelming sense of deja vu when I took the photograph on the left so had a rummage through my blog pictures of two years ago and found the right hand picture!)

I've left conversation to a minimum for this post.  I'm terribly one-track minded and devoid of witty repartee when I'm in the midst of a project.  Such things as meals, laundry, snow and chat serve only to distract.

I do however have a story of a little mouse to share with you very soon.

Hx

PS.  Be sure to stride confidently along the icy pavements - it's ALWAYS the teeterers who go base over apex!

Photo Scavenger Hunt - January 2012

I decided to join in with Kathy (Postcards From The PP)'s Photo Scavenger Hunt this year.  Here goes my January entry ...

2 : Rolls of wallpaper from Next which have just been delivered.  (Half the price of CK and just as pretty in my opinion).

BLUR : Bertie never stays still for a photo.

COMPANY : I always have the radio on for company, it's far too quiet without.

ENTRANCE : Notre Dame.  From our trip to Paris in December.  Beautiful isn't it?

IN MY BATHROOM : My starfish.  I bought them in Spain and they now live on top of our loo.  (Hmmm, I sure they were delighted to trade their sunny climes for cold ceramic and bare bottoms!!!)

IN SEASON : My plummy Hellebore.  Just about the only natural colour in the garden at the moment.

IN THE DISTANCE : We had some stunning sunsets last week.  I took this from our first floor lounge window and just love the rooftop silhouettes.

INFORMATION : Check out Little Miss Organised!

MESS : Bertie's muddy footprints on the utility room floor.

ODD : A red pear.  Well I've never seen one before!

SOFT : We each have a fleece blanket on our beds and we call them our 'softs'.  This is D's and my teal soft.

WARNING : The red wheel of doom!

Ta dah!  What fun.

Links to all the others taking part can be found here.

Hx