Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts

Monday, 31 August 2015

The last day of summer ....

31st August.  Bank Holiday here in the UK.  And torrential rain nearly all day.  And it was cold - not above 14 degrees.  It certainly feels like the end of summer, although I am hoping for an Indian summer somewhere along the line!

It got me thinking about the summer we have just had and how easy it is to forget the things you have done by doing more things quickly after!  So our summer in some pictures:

The weather in early and late spring was lovely so we made elderflower cordial very early on in June


Home Ed kayaking group met for their second course of the year - the weather was somewhat cold!


Impromptu visit to the National Trust's Hidcote Gardens - truly beautiful and inspiring gardens - well worth a visit

A break on our journey to Bude saw us stop at another National Trust property - this time it was Tyntesfield.  It was the first time we had visited and there was sooo much to see.  Another visit is definitely in order, probably without the children!

We went to Bude for a week and were greatly surprised by its beauty and warm welcome. We quickly fell in love with it and we were already talking about a return visit before we had even left the town environs on our departure!

The lobster pots at the end of the sea canal - that just happened to become my blog header ...

One very happy surf mad daughter - it was hard for her to leave the coast of New Zealand and live in the middle of England


July saw the arrival of my Handi Quilter Avante longarm quilting machine and a glut or Project Linus quilts to practice on, here, here and here.

I attended an indigo dying workshop with Edwina Mackinnon and loved the results

On the Home Ed front things wound up for the summer but there was our monthly group meet up in Snitterfield, a production of Tom Sawyer, sports sessions at the playing fields, a trip to Sulgrave Manor to attend an Explorers in the 16th Century day, a day of presentations on European countries, a visit to the Lunt Roman Fort near Coventry and a lovely day spent at a local farm helping them with hedgerow planting.

August started with a very full to-do list

The Webb Ellis cup, the trophy awarded at the end of the Rugby World Cup, came to Stratford which was cause for great excitement in our household - although we have a divide in our loyalties when it comes to rugby!

August also contained:

- a Flower Show, more to come on that

- lots of sewing on my Straight Line Bow quilt, progress can be seen herehere, here and here

- time spent with family, birthdays, barbecues and sleepovers

- time spent with friends, on the water and in the woods mostly

- lots of reading, magazines and books

All in all a great summer, despite the weather.  I won't be sad for autumn to start I think it's my favourite time of year, but then again I like spring too and I guess winter and summer.  I think what I like is the change of seasons.  When I lived in Tauranga in New Zealand I missed the four distinct seasons we have here in the UK so now I truly relish all that comes with each season and the natural cycle that we move in through the year.  Goodbye Summer - until next year! x

Saturday, 3 January 2015

A passport to the world ...



They already possess two real passports so did they really need another one?  

Well I was feeling very inspired tonight after spending some time reading through a Facebook Group called Passport Round the World.  I travelled quite a lot before getting married and having children and have inspired the girls to want to do the same.  For now it's from the comfort of home, which is currently in the UK, and so I thought I would make these to record the countries that we 'go to'. Having both UK and New Zealand citizenship in real life made me merge the two passports for a hybrid World Traveller version.

I vividly remember doing a project on New Zealand when I was 7 and having to take a suitcase into school on the day I 'flew' out.  My teacher, Miss Parker, was fantastic - she was the check in lady, the passport control and the air hostess.  Everyone waved me off as I set off on my journey ....... to the corridor outside the classroom!  The Home Ed community online is such a source of  inspiration and information that has fired me up for the New Year.

All that's required now is the first destination ... x

Friday Finish :: Fraktal Quilt

Taken from website blog before website closed down  05 March 2021 It has been a very long time sine I have had a Friday Finish and so I am d...