Also This Week

Hello Lovelies,

I hope your weekend is going well. I'm just popping by today to share a few photos from the last seven days that I have not already shared. 

Last Sunday we enjoyed an Easter meal with family. I love to put fresh flowers on the table and these tulips were the least floppy bunch I've ever known.............

My nieces baked these Easter Bunny cakes.........soooooo cute .........

On Tuesday were were all back to work or school. After a day cooped up inside with no windows , I stopped the car on the way home to get a fresh air fix. The countryside is looking so beautifully green.........

The sun was in and out , with dramatic skies and rays of light...........



This young Horse Chestnut tree was looking healthy with it's new leaves.........

This field has recently been made into a windflower meadow. I only discovered it in the winter , so I'll be interested to see what appears as the year progresses.

At the moment there are not many flowers, but lots of promising signs.........

And bee activity.....hurray..........

On Thursday I took a proud picture of myself after a 45 minute run......

Gosh it was hard and I think I'm rushing things a bit as I felt pants later in the day.

In our back garden some stunning tulips are making me smile. I planted them in the autumn to mark where we buried Sparkle, our last rabbit...........

I didn't mention it at the time , but she was a dear little pet and I thought I would share this photo of her taken last summer , when she had the best time exploring the garden.............

Middle son, who's pet she was, took this lovely photo of her under the trampoline.

Yesterday I was back at the Church garden, this time with Mr BM . 

It's just so pretty at the moment I hope you don't mind a few more photos............

After our wander we popped to the park with the boys and one niece, how lovely it is to have light evenings to enjoy a game of basket ball and some Frisbee throwing.........

 I'm totally rubbish at basket ball and got hit in the face with the ball a couple of times...... at least I tried.

Ahhhh sewing, this is more my thing!

  Jane , I hope you don't mind me copying you and buying this pattern. Obviously it's a big step up the difficulty ladder from my last two garments HERE and HERE.

Who knows if I'll be able to complete it . The styling on the pattern is once again not the greatest but one look at THESE google  images and I knew I wanted to give it a try.
Most people seem to make this view...........

I LOVE THIS version and THIS version

 I'll be raiding my stash again to practice this dress.....I wearable muslin , I think it's called. 

Wish me luck.

Thank you so much for all your comments lately lovelies, I know I've said it before but I really do appreciate them.

Jacquie x

♥ 52 Weeks of Happy♥ 28/52

Hello Lovelies,
 it's been a rather busy week here with many school activities to attend and plenty day to day stuff that needed my attention. I will be glad when the school holidays finally arrive.
Here are my happy things from a week when I've not had time to write any other blog posts.

1.Picking the first bunch of sweet peas from my garden. I'm sure they are late this year , but oh what a joy...and their scent is amazing, so pretty and intense........

2. Yesterday afternoon was sooooooo hot, even though some cloud had appeared. I sat in the garden and watched a cute bunny enjoying some more garden roaming. Can you see her?

Zoom in a bit......... Here she is :0)

3. Last Sunday was also a scorcher..........

 so I sat in the shade with my little sketch book.........

And drew Sparkle with the geraniums.......

She is featuring here quite a lot at the moment isn't she.

The next 14 photos really deserve their own post but I just don't know if I will have time to write one so I'll include them here.

4. Early morning sunshine. This was 7am yesterday morning. I set out for a run but quickly decided it was already too warm and everywhere looked so gorgeous in the early morning light that I wanted to slow down and enjoy it. 

The year is turning, and the colours of this hot July are mellow . The farmers are already hay making.........

and wild geraniums look pretty along the roadside........

The hogweed is turning to seed, love the pinky colour .......

Thistles are having their moment........

Trees cast long shadows and the distance is hazy.........

The brambles are flowering, with promise of yummy blackcurrants to come..........

And the grass seed heads are rather comical when you look at them close up..........

I'm happy to come across a clump of rose bay willow herb as I wander along in the still warm air.....

As pretty as any garden flower and looking stunning on such a perfect day...........

The fields are full of crops that are getting pretty tall.........

It's  wheat and I take a  close up shot as the footpath goes right through the field..........

I do love loving in an area where there is mixed farming as it's lovely to see livestock as well as crops.......

 There are a lot of animals ( horses and sheep ) in this picture.....almost all of them are sensibly hiding in the shade.......

Yes, the countryside looked just perfect in the golden rays of the sun rising on a hot, high summers day.

And on the way home I couldn't resist taking a picture of this wonderful garden . When I'm walking I always stop to peer over the fence at this delight. Isn't it beautiful...........

Hope you are coping with the heat if it's hot where you are . Wishing you a week with time to enjoy some simple pleasures.

Jacquie x

♥ 52 Weeks of Happy ♥ 27/52

Hello Lovelies, 

Firstly I need to say THANK YOU for all your wonderfully kind comments on my latest posts. I was touched that so many of you took the time to encourage me in my drawing. And my poppy post contained so many good wishes for mum again....what can I say....you lot and the best.

Here are some of my other happy things.

1. Warm sunny evenings. We are making the most of this glorious weather with many hours spent outdoors.
It's light till after 10pm at the moment and so pleasant to be outside, watching the sinking sun and the lengthening shadows. Much of this has been done at the park, playing tennis and various ball games.
This was a little trip to the river , to sit and enjoy a drink while this sky turned pink and the still water made beautiful reflections.........

 Love the names of these narrow boats. This ones called Tell me tomorrow.

And this name seemed perfect on such a still, warm evening..........

the next three are all garden related :0)

2. Rose season. The roses seem particularly beautiful this year. My neighbour across the road has a simply stunning display. These are picked from my own garden..........

And I've been planting more....a lovely birthday present from my mum in law....

3. cooling down in the sunshine. The boys talked me into buying a bigger paddling pool on Friday. Saturday morning saw us filling it up ( boys were sailing a boat while it filled ).
 It's been great to sit in the shade and watch then have fun with such a simple summer pleasure........

 4. Sparkle enjoying the run of the garden. We only have one rabbit now, she is such a sweety. While we are in the garden she has been enjoying a bit of freedom to hop about where she pleases . Mostly she stretches out in the shade. This was taken by middle son while they were laying under the trampoline together.......

Hot sunny weather... such a rare treat for us.

Hope you are enjoying it too if you are in the U.K.
Jacquie x

P.S. nearly forgot to mention.....I've added a BLOGLOVIN button as I think google friends connect is ending very soon....why? !

Half Term Simple Pleasures

Hello Lovelies ,
This past week I've been on holiday with my boys for the half term break . We enjoyed a couple of busy days celebrating my twins birthday with a family barbecue at home ( a tradition these days ) and then a another day we had trip to the cinema with friends to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2...great fun.

The nice thing about this break for me has been it has been a good mix of busy days and slower days .
Days with no work pressure or school commitments . I really appreciate not having to rush about watching the clock .It was great to slow down and enjoy some simple pleasures.
Time to smell the roses........

I only have one rose bush in my back garden and this week I certainly wondered why as this beauty was was at it's best and the smell was divine.
By midweek the weather was really summery. When I got up on the first of June it was lovely to throw the windows open wide and really let the fresh air in ....

The picture on my calendar this month is delightful , don't you think....

There was time to add more recently made T.shirt yarn to my rug...

Time to notice cute bunny faces....

And then smile at comical bunny sunbathing ....

Time to have fun making a Fairy garden inspired by this great example ( scroll down )...

The boys did join in with this but I think I enjoyed it the most :0)
Do you like the ponds made from upturned limpet shells and the tortoise on the lawn.

Just this morning I added the welcome sign made from ice lolly sticks and yarn.....

To round off the week I even managed to leave the boys with Mr BM for a couple of hours and look round some open gardens with my Mum.....

The gardens were beautiful and the village was just so pretty. I loved the cute little cottages with roses round the door .....or even growing in through the upstairs window in this first picture :0)..........

and the old out buildings at the entrance to the allotments....

The perfect end to a relaxing break with three boys...I never thought I'd be able to say that !!

Jacquie x

P.S. Thank you so much for all your comments on my granny square blanket. My extra yarn supplies arrived at 9.20 am Saturday ( 24 hours after I ordered it !! THANKYOU Masons Needlecraft :0) )..........

And it's exactly the same shade ...phew.