More Savoring Needed

The girls and I have had two weeks at home with our Bloke mixed in with family weekends and I felt a bit guilty (not like me at all) that we had not used our time wisely but then I looked on the memory card in my camera which changed my outlook.

We all went on an egg hunt with old friends and their families followed by drinks and chip butties in the pub - a really great catch up with cliches like, "I can't believe they are growing up so fast!" "Are you still teaching Jo?" "Did you make that?" etc.

I have found an unlikely new pastime, burning brash. We have spent two days at the farm clearing woodland areas to allow new spring growth. We also put the smashed up bits of the old cabin to burn and took the rest of the good bits down in preparation for the new.

The areas we cleared last year are thriving and you have to sort of look past the carnage and dream the green of the following year.

Little M and I wondered down to the pond in search of frogspawn and were not disappointed.

I even spotted some toad spawn which I had never seen before.

We visited Berrington Hall National Trust to learn about the Georgians. I was intrigued by these paper sculptures and admired the artists knowledge of pattern cutting. They represented people who had lived in the house.

There was a phenomenal local embroiderers exhibition in the rooms on the top floor which were a delight. 

We also visited Sunnycroft National Trust on another day which similarly has a stitching link as the spinster who finally lived there was one of the embroiderers for Queen Elizabeth II coronation robes.

We had family maintenance duties; both children needed new PE footwear, there were gift book tokens to spend and hair cuts needed. I only succeeded with one there, I have a strong willed little girl who will not have her hair cut. Big Sis loved her first ever proper pair of chosen trainers so much she made a little drawstring bag for them on the sewing machine to keep them clean. Little M made a purse for storing her still gargantuan stash of chocolate mini eggs which she is eating eight at a time!

We welcomed two new chickens into our family and received our first beautiful egg from them.

We had friends to play, my girls went to others to play, we bickered a bit, we baked cakes, we dug the allotment, I snatched many moments of knitting, sewing and crochet on April shower days, I gave up on tidying the house and we watched more TV than we normally do. 

I read a book! Us by David Nicholls,I hardly ever read anymore, it was fantastic. Bloke reads every night (The road Home) and reading with the girls has been a joy for everybody over the last two weeks.

So I think I should just chill out and stop berating myself, we have been having a wonderful time all along, maybe I just need to savor these moments a little more. We might round off the holidays with Sunday Lunch out tomorrow - that sounds good.

What have you been up to?

Love Jo x