Friday Happies

Time has been my greatest source of happiness this week. Freedom from clock watching and rushing, the opportunity to pause and be in the moment.

:: Time to indulge in some cloud watching. We've had some dramatic, stormy skies this week, with heavy bursts of rain and lots of bright sun. These conditions make for good clouds. 

:: Time to enjoy a beautiful, leisurely walk in a favourite spot on the South coast with my mum and the children, to watch the clouds and linger behind, taking photos.

:: Time to dawdle over feeding the ducks, to coo over tame ducklings waddling around and enjoy the children's merriment when a slightly too tame swan tried to eat my mum's toe. Things like that are hysterically funny when you're five and seven.

The ducks and swans were keen, which is always gratifying. There is nothing more dispiriting than taking the kids to feed the ducks only to be met by indifferent birds who swim away, bored by bread.

:: Time in the kitchen with Mum, who showed me her new scone recipe. She says she think's it is *whisper* better than Delia's. The scones, covered in bramble jelly and clotted cream were light, still warm from the oven, and utterly delicious.

:: Time to sit down with the kids and help them finish their holiday pictures. They are ready to hang now.

This one below is Angus's. He drew all the pictures onto the fabric with my "magic" pen, and I stitched over them. I like the sun best. All children seem to draw the sun in exactly the same way.

And here is Bella's. She drew the picture herself and, bless her, every single stitch is her own. She can tie off the thread really well now, and proudly told my mum the three stitches she's learnt (satin stitch, back stitch and running stitch).

You can see that Bella's picture was heavily influenced by what she saw me sewing on holiday, and that Angus has basically copied Bella, but I love these hoops all the same. Their holiday memories, captured in thread, are very precious to me indeed.