Spring Miscellaneous

There's nothing and everything going on here at the moment. I feel like I never stop, but I also don't have a lot to show for my busyness. Recent weekends and evenings seem to be spent constantly driving children to and from various parties, clubs, activities. But the weather has warmed up, the garden is emerging from its winter slumber and we have a weekend of gardening and DIY planned which I am happy about. I'm at that stage with the garden where I'm genuinely delighted by it, by what I see each time I go out there, so happy to be out in it pottering around after a long winter and interested to see what's growing, what's new. This will be our fourth summer in this house and I'm still getting to know the garden, as we've done quite a bit to it since we moved in, creating borders, moving plants etc. I still get a thrill when something new blooms. The daffodils are fading but the tulips are just about to open and are looking very cheerful indeed.

 The rhubarb has shot up in the last two weeks, along with the weeds...

 and I spied a tiny pink carnation flower in a sorry looking pot.

I filled the wooden planter on the decking with a mixture of daffodil bulbs again last autumn - it's right in front of our kitchen patio doors so I like to make an effort with it - and it's bursting with yellow, white and orange flowers. I am loving these ones below, although I have no idea what variety they are - some kind of multi-headed narcissus, maybe?

I am really, really looking forward to the Easter holidays. That two week break in the middle of spring always feels like a treat, especially if the weather is good. It's often a holiday we spend in the garden and doing DIY, and I can't see that this one will be any different. I'm looking forward to getting stuck in to the spring Craftpod. I have a few projects that I've saved from previous boxes and I might do some embroidery over the Easter holidays, add a few more hoops to the wall in the dining room. 

Crochet-wise, I decided to start with the Ombre Shawl as it's something I can wear during the spring and summer. I had a bit of a wobble about the brightness of the pink but I've done a few more rows since then, and it's starting to subside. I will like it more when the grey comes in, I think.

Last weekend I made baked doughnuts from this recipe and they came out really well. You have to accept that they are not really like a traditional doughnut, since they don't contain yeast and aren't deep fried, in fact they're really just a doughnut shaped cake. But they are so light, and once they are dipped in melted butter and coated with cinnamon sugar...so, so good, and a lot nicer than the stale jam doughnuts I bought from Tesco's a few weeks ago.

My after work dog walks have been lovely lately. It's light until seven pm now, although I usually walk Ziggy between four and five, and the blossom everywhere is such a pretty sight, especially the magnolia.

We had a really gorgeous walk at the beach on Sunday afternoon. I was hot in my boots and coat and it truly felt like spring had arrived.

I love this time of year. The longer days give me such a boost of energy, and I am full of plans for all the things I want to cook and paint, sew and crochet, plant and make. There are cupboards to be emptied, rooms to be spring cleaned (and of course rearranged) and flowers to pick from the garden. Lovely spring.