Cake and Other Good Things

Good things like birthday cake. Made by my sister, Katy, at my request. Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, my favourite. 

Like hand-drawn birthday cards and tulips and beautiful new vases. I am well-vased now. All my vase and flower vessel needs are met. So many to choose from!

Like a shiny pretty new necklaces, a gift from my best friend Abigail, and indulgent bath products that I'd never usually buy as I'm such a cheapskate.

In case I forget.

Like nearly finishing this shawl. I'm on the border now and it's just a darning and a blocking away from being worn. It's huge. I used almost two 100g skeins of yarn. 

I love how frothy it is. The yarn is called Driftwood but it kind of reminds me of sea foam.

Like a brisk coastal walk this morning. Damn the wind was cold! Everyone had that head down, purposeful look to them, more marching than walking. Getting fresh air? Tick. Exercising the children on their scooters? Tick. Oh good, we can go home to the warm and relax now. 

Like watching these gulls walk on the frozen millpond. They must be a little confused.

Like the sunset from our new bedroom window, taken at the end of an afternoon decorating. It stays lighter a little longer every day. Actually, we've made real headway with the decorating this weekend and the bedrooms are almost done. We've painted one wall in our bedroom the most stunning shade of blue. I'll take a photo. I can't wait to get furniture in there and show it to you properly!

Well, I was all ready to sit here and tell you about what a crappy half term I've had, what with the germs, and the two lots of cancelled plans to see friends, and the seemingly endless rounds of doctors appointments and antibioitcs and painkillers that punctuated our break. I'm quite well now, but when your nearest and dearest are poorly you feel like you might as well be too. Anyway, there's light at the end of the tunnel and, when I sit and think about it, there was lightness in our week too. Like on Wednesday, when I met up with my dear friend Debora and her family, who were holidaying in the New Forrest. I showed her the house - it was so nice to show it to someone! - and we had a pub lunch and a meandering walk along the shore. The kids fell back into their old friendships and paddled and hunted for sea glass. And on Friday I celebrated my birthday. I love birthdays, I really do. Presents! Cake! Fuss! My mum called me Birthday Girl all day which I loved. Like "Morning Birthday Girl!" and "What would the Birthday Girl like for lunch?" I do the same with Bella. In my card from John was a little note saying "I owe you lunch out, somewhere nice and of your choice, when I am better." I'm saving that for a spring day when the kids are at school. So yes, lots of good things when I stop and think about it. 

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Thank you so much for sharing the names of all your favourite toys with me. It was such fun reading the comments! I've come the the conclusion that perhaps my children and I are not so unimaginative after all, since so many beloved toys and comforters are named simply as they are named by their small owners, which is how it should be.  You told me about bears called Big Ted, Red Ted, Blue Ted, Little Bear and Brown Bear, Pandas called Pandy or Panda, Dogs called Doggie. And then there were the really funny ones, like Mr Peebly, Schlumbl, Willem the Cat and Egg Sandwich. Names which have no meaning or significance to anyone other than the owner. Brilliant! Thank you so much. And on that note, let me leave you with a photo or two of String Dog, so named as Angus likes to make him a lead from parcel string and then drag him around behind him, including to the new house where he inevitably got paint on him and that is why he's on the washing line, drying out.